


Percy Jackson and the Fire Prince

by Maikalani



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Aphrodite Ships It, Ares shows up for a little while, Mentions of Olympus, Multi, Percy is sent somewhere, Set in Avatar world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-26
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-08-29 13:01:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 34,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16744498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maikalani/pseuds/Maikalani
Summary: Probably the corniest thing I've ever written. (Not that that's saying much.)Percy finds himself in a strange new world, surrounded by odd creatures and weird people who can control the four main elements. When he realizes that he has been sent on a quest for the gods, he knows that there can be nothing but trouble lying ahead. A strong adversary has joined the Fire Lord, planting evil thoughts into his mind and negatively influencing the Avatar World with his existence. It's up to Percy, along with his new friends, to find out where he is and stop him before he helps the Fire Lord take over the entire world. But is it too late?Percy/Zuko is super gay. Everyone else is with their normal partners. Sorry, Mei. Mai? Oh well.BTW, this disclaimer stands for the rest of the chapters, but I don't claim ownership to any character, plot, action, or event you may recognize in this story.





	1. Arrival

###### 

Arrival

Percy really didn't know how he ended up in the middle of the ocean, but he swore up and down that it wasn't his fault. He didn't do anything bad this time! Not to mention—which ocean was this? 

Our hero, Perseus (Percy) Jackson, was floating in the middle of the sea, wearing his Camp Half-Blood t-shirt, and some faded, straight jeans. As the son of Poseidon, he knew his coordinates, but it definitely wasn't anywhere near America. In fact, it didn't even seem like Earth. 

Even the water behaved oddly. Rather than the rolling waves, raging storms, and churning seas he was used to, it seemed almost . . . compliant. As his hands drifted through the clear water, it bent easily at his command and flowed so much more smoothly than ever. It almost seemed eager to follow his motions—if that made any sense. 

Percy lifted his hand from the water and clenched it into a fist, watching as the water followed quickly and imitated his fist, just ten times larger. He let it fall and thrust both hands into the air this time, the tug he usually felt in his gut was weaker than usual, but the water rose and formed a huge, swirling vortex. 

His eyes wide, Percy let himself relax into the water once more and just float. He still had no idea where he was or how he could get back home. He knew that he was nowhere near America. Thanks to his freaky water-compass, he knew his exact coordinates. Weirdly, the landmasses felt completely off. If this was the right coordinates, he should be right in the middle of Camp! He could also tell that there was a large land mass (probably an island?) to the North, something that felt like the mainland to the East, and a long way to any type of land to the South and West. 

He tried to dive under and look for fish, but found odd creatures instead. They were weird combinations of regular sea life. Most he would never have imagined could combine. Turtle-dolphins, tuna-horses (though he supposed those could be related to Hippocampi), and even a gigantic lion-turtle floated by. He could hear their thoughts, but instead of the repetitious, almost childlike words he was used to hearing from sea life, there were intelligent conversations and sarcastic comments. 

_Who's the new guy?_

_Who cares?_

_He seems important. Plus, he's breathing underwater. Other humans don't do that._

_Maybe you should go ask him._

_Hahaha!_

_Maybe you should swim right into the Fire Nation's giant nets!_

More confused than ever and not sure where to go, Percy resigned himself to rest for a little while. He was pretty tuckered out from the fight he had gotten in before getting here . . . fight? Oh, right. 

Just before our hero found himself in this predicament, he had been fighting against the primordial goddess of the Earth--the Earth incarnate--Gaea. The battle had come close, but he and his friends were able to defeat her. After the war, they just barely managed to divert the civil war crisis back at Camp thanks to Zeus' mighty flick. 

He snickered, it was one of the worst ways he had ever traveled, but it got the job done. As his thoughts continued, Percy slowly slipped into unconsciousness, not realizing when the currents started to push him Westward. 

\---

Prince Zuko was grumpily traveling through one of the Earth Kingdom's rare forests on his Ostrich-Horse when he spotted it. 

A person, one who was still breathing, was lying on the shore of the riverbank. Zuko was sorely tempted to leave the guy there. Why should he care to help some random dude who was sleeping by a river? Who even sleeps by a river anyway? 

Just as he started to trot away, the boy groaned and rolled over, eyes cracking open to reveal an expressive glow that Zuko had never seen before. 

Green met gold in a fiery clash as they made eye-contact, but the guy's hold on consciousness quickly slipped away, leaving him at the mercy of the Fire Prince. 

Zuko looked back and forth between the boy and the path he was traveling on before resigning himself to his fate and walking over to the boy. He knew what he needed to do. 

That didn't mean he had to like it. 

\---

Up North, the Avatar's friends wandered Kiyoshi Island, trying to find out what really happened to separate Kiyoshi from the mainland while the Avatar himself shuddered in his jail cell. 

He felt a rush of power ripple across the land and knew it came from something that didn't belong to the Spirit World. He gazed up at the sun curiously. When he had awoken from the iceberg, he recalled momentarily sensing a similarly strange power, before it had disappeared. He hadn't thought too much about it until now. 

Even though he was locked away and couldn't really put his finger on it, Aang knew that something had just come to their world. Whether it was a friendly power or an enemy, he did not know, but he was definitely going to find out. He was the Avatar, after all. 


	2. Percy and Zuko

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that the awkward beginning has passed . . .

###### Percy and Zuko

When Percy came to, he was hanging off the back of an animal. He wondered if it was another strange mixture of two normal animals, like ones from the ocean. He cracked open one eye and found himself staring down at the golden seas of a desert. Was this thing a camel? 

His whole body twitched and he groaned, lifting an arm to try and push himself up. Were those feathers? He tried to shift again but felt a hand press down on his back. 

"Stay still." 

He froze, every muscle in his body screaming _danger danger **danger**_ . . . Danger? When the man made no move to harm him, Percy spoke lowly. "Where am I?" 

The man paused for a few moments, and Percy found himself slowly relaxing. His hand was still on the demigod's back and it felt really warm. Despite the heat of the desert, it was soothing. 

"We're currently arriving at one of the smaller farming towns in the Earth Kingdom's desert area." 

Now that Percy could hear his voice a little clearer, the man sounded more like a boy. He couldn't be any older than Percy himself. 

"The Earth Kingdom?" he asked, "Is that even a place?" 

He tried to turn and look up at his captor(?) but felt whatever they were riding on stop suddenly, and the hand disappeared from his back as the guy dismounted. 

Percy sighed and took a moment to gather his thoughts. He was in a weird place that was apparently named after the woman he was just finished beating up and he was with some guy who spoke less than Nico. 

He rolled himself over and looked up just in time to see an egg hit the back of somebody's head. Percy wrinkled his brow as he took in the odd, Chinese-inspired clothing. A group of men squatted beside a building beside the one whose head was now covered in egg. They stood and confronted a dude with a large burn scar on the side of his face. He frowned--three on one didn't seem fair. He tried to wiggle his way off but froze when he heard a voice. 

_"Stop moving."_ Percy's head whipped to the side and he tilted precariously as he realized what he was sitting on. 

"A bird? Wait--you talk?" he asked, getting a weird look from the man behind the counter. He grinned awkwardly and the shopkeep rolled his eyes, turning back to the fight with something like sadness in his eyes. 

_"You hear?"_ the ostrich sniffed back, flicking its head to the side. Percy noticed the bird seemed a bit miffed that he could hear him; that was weird--animals were usually overjoyed when someone could hear their voice. Except for Arion, that guy had a potty mouth. _"And I'm not an ostrich,"_ it scoffed (if an ostrich could scoff), _"I'm an Ostrich-Horse."_

Percy's eyebrow quirked and he groaned, running a hand through his hair, "I'm going crazy." 

After having his supplies stolen, the boy with the scar walked over to him and gave him an odd look. He guessed he was probably sitting the wrong way. Was the Ostrich's head supposed to be in the back or the front of him? 

He said, "You're awake." Scarface looked like he wanted to say something else, but a young boy appeared and interrupted whatever thought had been about to go through his mind. Percy looked up and sighed when the boy started talking with his . . . he still didn't know what to call this guy. Travel-buddy? 

Apparently, Percy's travel-buddy had helped the kid out by allowing those guards to rough him up. As thanks, the boy brought the travelers back to his home and they met his family. From what Percy could gather, there was a war going on, and these people were suffering the brunt of it. 

He knew how that went--how many parents had he visited after the Second Titan War, bringing news that their child was never coming home? 

"Please, let us thank you for helping our son," the boy's mother said with a smile. She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear as the wind blew. "It's the least we could do." 

The boy thought about it for a while, stone-faced. He took a glance at Percy before nodding. "We'll do some housework in exchange." 

The father gestured for them to follow and walked around the house to a barn that was filled with hay and other weird-looking animals. "I'll be back in the morning, and we can fix that roof up there," the old man said, gesturing up to the hole in the roof that led straight up to the darkening sky. 

The door creaked as the old man left, and Percy looked over to the teen who was giving him a suspicious look. 

"So . . . who are you anyway? Where is the 'Earth Nation?' Does Gaea run the place?" 

The teen's brow furrowed and he scowled at Percy once more. He could tell that he was thinking about his next line seriously, "I don't know who Gaea is, the Earth _Kingdom_ is run by the Earth King. My name is Zuko. I'm the Prince of the Fire Nation." 

Percy waited for more but sighed when he was left in silence. "Okay, Well, I'm Percy. Nice to meet you, Zuko," he replied, holding out his hand to shake. The boy looked at him like he had just put on some green trousers and started dancing an Irish jig. 

He snapped, "That's it?" and took a threatening step forward. Percy stepped back and held up his hands. Zuko froze and then let out a huff, "How do you not care? Why aren't you yelling at me--or running away? Or both?" He threw his arms out to his sides in frustration and stomped over to a larger pile of hay. Yikes, this guy must have been really unpopular. 

How do you respond to a mad guy without pissing them off some more? He was used to just baiting people into being angry not calming them down. "Well, uh, why should I do any of that?" 

Zuko looked at him incredulously before groaning and letting himself fall back into the hay pile. Was that the wrong answer? "Whatever. As for your questions, we're currently in a small town near the Eastern side of the Earth Kingdom, and I found you on the bank of a river," the Fire Prince said, obviously not wanting to get into it. He sounded like he was pouting. 

Percy blinked, wondering if that river Zuko mentioned was very far from the ocean. How he had managed to float all the way down a river and into this desert, he would never know. He must have been out of it longer than he thought. 

"Ookay, well the last thing I remember, I was on Long Island Beach in New York," he said, sitting cross-legged in front of the boy who looked at him weirdly again. 

"What's a . . . _New_ York?" His scowl didn't prevent him from sounding childish, and with his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned backward with hay falling over his head. Percy had to hold back a snicker when he said his next line, "Is there an old one?" 

Percy stared at Zuko's face for a few seconds before bursting out into laughter. He kept going until a few tears rolled down his cheeks, then wiped them away and said, "Seriously? I thought everyone knew about New York. It's in America." 

The only response he got was a blank look. How did anyone in the world not know about America? Everyone either loved the country deeply or hated it with a passion. (Little did he know, Zuko was doubting Percy's mental ability as well.) 

"Right. Well, now you're in the Earth Kingdom." What a grump. Percy blinked as his words registered in his mind. Huh? Zuko seemed to pick up on his confusion and started explaining. 

\---long explanations of stuff start here, if you're too lazy (like me), skip to the next break--- 

"The Earth Kingdom is one of the Four Great Nations," he looked like he expected Percy to join in. "It's located to the West while the Fire Nation is to the East, the Water Tribes are at the Northern and Southern Poles, and the four Air Nomad Temples . . . were once located in each cardinal direction." 

"What do you mean, they 'were once'? They're not there anymore?" Zuko's face darkened. 

"You really don't know anything?" Percy was a little miffed. Zuko made it sound like he was stupid or something . . . oh, wait. 

Zuko let out a huff of breath, "Well, the Air Nomads were wiped out by the Fire Nation one hundred years ago, sparking the current war between the Fire Nation and the rest of the world." 

Percy's eyes widened; whoa, whoa, whoa. Either this guy was completely insane, or Percy wasn't even on _Earth_ anymore. Judging by what he had seen so far, he was leaning more toward the latter.

"And now you know," Zuko sounded hollow, and Percy noticed he was looking off into the distance. "I'm the Prince of the Fire Nation--the reason that the whole world is ruined. 

"People around the world fear us--they _hate_ the Fire Nation." Zuko scowled. "And they hate me. That's why I didn't tell those people out there the truth." 

Percy couldn't think of anything else to do so he nodded, feeling a twinge of pity for Zuko. He had only known the guy for a little while (like an hour), but he didn't seem like a bad guy. At least, not based on the evil freaks he'd met before. 

He surprised himself by saying, "But that's not like it's your fault. You weren't alive a hundred years ago to start the war." 

Zuko looked at him incredulously, slamming both of his forearms into the hay to push himself up a little, "I just told you that the whole entire world suffered while I lived in the lap of luxury for most of my life," he snapped. "People were _dying_ in a _war_ while I grew up in a palace with more than enough of what I needed, surrounded by loving admirers!" 

Percy felt resistance build up in his chest; why was Zuko being so hard on himself? "Yeah, but it's not like you went out and killed them. You were a kid. Besides, right now you're just feeling bad for something you couldn't even control." He ignored Zuko's wide eyes and open jaw as he continued. "And you're obviously not living in the palace right now, so why should you feel bad?" 

A moment of silence when by and Percy wondered if he had pissed the other boy off. Suddenly, Zuko grunted out a reluctant, "Thanks." Percy grinned. If he wasn't crazy (debatable), he swore he saw the hint of a smile playing at the fire prince's lips. 

Percy sighed and looked up through the broken roof, "I guess I'm in some deep schist after all," he groaned, flopping back down onto the hay and scowling at the Ostrich-Horse when it snorted at him. 

"Schist?" Percy waved his hand back and forth and rolled over to look at the Fire Prince. 

Percy sighed, "I probably, somehow managed to leave my entire planet," he elaborated, much to Zuko's confusion. The Fire Prince opened his mouth to speak, but Percy continued. "Where I come from, there are way more than _four_ nations, and none of them are named after forces of nature." 

Zuko looked taken aback, "More than four nations?" he sounded shocked. 

Percy nodded, sending him a little smile, "I live in America, one of the largest nations on my planet," he hesitated, but figured that telling Zuko wouldn't be too bad. They weren't even on Earth, after all, what harm could come of it? 

"Do you guys believe in gods around here?" He took the confusion on Zuko's face as a no. 

"Gods?" 

"Yeah, they're all-powerful, immortal beings who were supposedly made up to explain the causes of natural events like the sun, the sky, the ocean, storms, death, and all that other stuff," Percy explained. He was so glad Annabeth had drilled most of these explanations into his mind, "Different groups of people believe in different gods. Some people believe that there is only one God, others believe there are many." 

Zuko nodded, but the frown on his face and his furrowed eyebrows gave away his confusion. 

"Anyway, there was once an ancient civilization, Greece, where people believed in the Greek gods. There was Zeus, god of the sky, Poseidon of the ocean, Hades of the underworld, and a bunch of other gods for everything else you can think of. 

"A lot of people today think they're just myths and that they don't actually exist, but they were real. They were also really famous for going around the world having kids with mortals. The kids were known as demigods." Zuko's eyes widened as he started to paint the picture. 

Percy grinned, "I am one of those children," he said, placing his hand on his stomach, "my father was the god of the seas, Poseidon, and I inherited some of his powers when I was born." 

Zuko's water pack started floating over to Percy's hand when he made to reach for it. The Fire Prince looked on in shock and amazement, "So you're basically a water-bender," he concluded, remembering that Percy didn't know about that when the demigod's brow wrinkled. "They're from the Water Tribes--they can control water." 

The son of Poseidon stared blankly, and Zuko continued, "It's the same for each of the Four Nations, the water-benders from the Water Tribe, earth-benders from the Earth Kingdom, fire-benders from the Fire Nation, and air-benders from the Air Temples," he felt his stomach drop when he mentioned the last one, "although, there is only one air-bender left in the world. The Avatar." 

Percy furrowed his eyebrows and almost found himself crossing his eyes as he thought hard. "Okay, what's an 'Avatar'? Is it like those blue guys from the movie?" 

Zuko's mood dropped like a bowling ball, and his scowl deepened once more. If this guy had any more anger wrinkles on his face, he would be Dumbledor. "The Avatar is one person who gets reincarnated over and over again. He is the bridge between the two worlds: the Real World and the Spirit World," Percy nodded, remembering when Nico claimed to be the Ghost King, "The Spirits of the Spirit Realm are like your gods--there are spirits that embody the rivers, moon, forests--nature, basically. 

"The Avatar is the only person who is able to communicate with the Spirits, and he is most well known for being able to wield each of the four elements," he concluded, a scowl marring his face, "he's the hero of the world." 

Percy wrinkled his brow, "You sound like you don't like him," he observed. 

Zuko let out a long-suffering sigh, and his head drooped to his chest, "It's complicated," he replied, letting out a little yawn. Percy grinned and patted the Fire Prince's shoulder. 

\---End Scene--- 

"Whatever it is, you can figure it out. If you want to tell me about it, I'll be here," a yawn made its way across his face and Zuko snorted. 

"You're tired? You've been sleeping for days!" he sounded exasperated. 

The son of Poseidon gave him an offended look, "I'll have you know I can sleep for weeks! Months even!" 

They laughed and flopped down together in the hay. Percy was still uneasy about where he was and how he got there, but talking to Zuko had calmed his nerves, and knowing more about the place he was in was a surprising way of settling himself. 

It was almost laughable how Percy had ended up in the Earth Kingdom after defeating the goddess of earth. The fates must really _like_ him to be playing silly tricks like these on the son of Poseidon. 

(Somewhere in the sky, three old ladies chuckled menacingly.) 

The next morning, Percy learned a little more about Zuko's bitter childhood as they worked on hammering roof tiles into the ceiling of the barn they had slept in. The man of the house was bringing them supplies to hammer into the roof, and Zuko was surprisingly bad at it. 

Percy snorted as Zuko hammered his thumb (again), "Dude, you suck at this," he snickered, receiving a scathing glare in response. 

"Well, I've never used tools like this before," he defended, cursing softly as the nail bent sideways again and got stuck in the roof tile. Percy guffawed, feeling proud of his own work in comparison to Zuko's. It wasn't the best job, but at least all the tiles were in a somewhat straight line. 

"If anything needed to be fixed, it was either thrown away or fixed by people my father hired for the job," Zuko grumbled, hammering away and scowling when his nails came out crooked again. Percy didn't even try to hold back his snicker at the prince's shoddy work. 

"My mom used to always fix things at home," Percy recalled, smiling as he slammed the hammer down a few more times, "she was so tired from working all day, but she would still try to fix everything that broke while she was gone." 

Sally hadn't needed to fix too many things since they met Paul, but Percy could still remember when she taught him how to turn the lights back on with the electrical grid after Gabe knocked the breaker out with an empty bottle of beer. Or the time when the pipes had burst after Percy threw a fit when he was seven and his mom had fixed them instead of calling a plumber. 

Percy felt a bit surprised when Zuko returned the favor. "My mom didn't really tinker," he said, smiling as a vision of a small pond and some turtle-ducks came to mind, "but she really liked animals. She used to let me feed the turtle-ducks in the pond behind our house." 

Percy's eyebrow rose as he brought his hammer down again, "Turtle-ducks?" he asked, and Zuko nodded, looking up with surprisingly wide eyes. 

"Do you guys not have turtle-ducks?" he asked. 

Percy was a little higher than him on the rooftop since the demigod was moving faster than the fire prince was. He had borrowed a shirt from the family that was housing them for the night, and he felt a little more exposed with the Chinese-styled shirt design. 

He shook his head, "No way! We have turtles and ducks, not turtle-ducks," he replied, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt as he paused in his hammering. 

"Just turtles? And just ducks?" Zuko asked, an odd expression on his face, "That's so weird." 

Percy rolled his eyes. 

\--- 

Later that day, Percy watched Zuko fight the Earth Kingdom guards with a scowl. These guys were nothing but bullies and they deserved whatever was coming to them. Zuko had refused Percy's help and ordered him to save the boy as he single-handedly faced four guards. 

Percy doubted his new friend's plan, but went over to the boy and smiled reassuringly at him as he untied the ropes. He noticed that there were scrapes on the boy's arms from rope burn and summoned some water down from the tank above them to sooth the irritated areas. 

The boy looked at him, his wide eyes shining as he saw Percy in a new light. 

"You're a water-bender?" he asked. Percy didn't want to launch into a long explanation again, so he just nodded. The kid's eyes sparkled some more, but then he turned to face Zuko as the earth-bender soldier knocked him flat on his back. 

"Get up!" the boy urged, hands shaped tightly into fists as he watched the guard advance on the teenager in horror. Percy was about to rush forward when Zuko suddenly sprung up, attacking the guard with his fire-bending. 

Admittedly, Percy had kind of doubted the stuff about fire-bending and earth-bending until now, the earth-benders had tilted his beliefs a little as the fight went on, but Zuko's fire-bending was amazing. He watched with sparkling eyes as his friend pushed the guard back and winced when the old earth-bender smashed into the side of a building. 

Zuko bent down to retrieve the knife the guard had stolen from the boy and walked over to him just as his mother pushed through the crowd and blocked his way. 

"Not another step," she warned, much to Percy's surprise. He was about to say something like. "He just saved your son's life!" when Zuko held up his hand and bent down to hand the boy his knife. Percy sniffed when the family walked away, annoyed by their behavior. 

"What the Styx is your problem?" Percy grumbled, but they were already too far away. Zuko gave him a half smile, the pain from the rejection lessened by his companion's pitiful attempt at revenge. 

If Zuko had any doubts about Percy being from another planet, they had disappeared with the wind (Or with the flames? Eh?). Nobody in this world could possibly stay civil with him after seeing him fire-bend like that. 

"Thanks, Percy," he grunted, turning around and pocketing his knife, "but nobody likes a fire-bender. Especially not me." 

Percy frowned back at the small town as they packed their things; everyone was giving them fearful or angry looks now, and most of the people had turned on Zuko after seeing what he did. Even though he had saved their lives--those racists. 

They left the town with people watching their every move and trudged on through the desert, water packs full because Percy managed to snag some from the giant tank on the way out, and hearts heavy. 

\--- 

They traveled around the Earth Kingdom together for almost a month and a half before Zuko caught sight of some tracks on the ground. Clumps (ho ho) of white fur lined the ground in the same direction as the tracks, causing Zuko's eyes to narrow. 

"The Avatar," Zuko growled, readying the Ostrich-Horse in the direction of the tracks. 

A frown crossed Percy's face and he wondered what was wrong, "You can tell it's him just from fur clumps?" 

Zuko nodded, urging the Ostrich-Horse forward, "The Avatar rides on a flying bison, and that fur definitely belongs to the bison," he explained, letting out a sigh. "Look, Percy, I'm not as noble as you think I am," he said, scanning the horizon until he noticed the cloud of dust. "My father dishonored me, and told me that I couldn't go back home until I caught the Avatar." 

Percy's eyes widened, and he frowned, "So, you want to catch the Avatar and go back to the Fire Nation?" 

Zuko scowled, "Yes! Well, no. I don't know!" he shouted, allowing his frustration to take over. "Chasing the Avatar is all I've done for the past two years. I just--I have to catch him." 

The son of Poseidon felt himself droop, and he grasped the reins, slowing the Ostrich-Horse enough to jump off. 

"You'll never get there fast enough with me holding you back," Percy explained, looking at the cloud of dust Zuko had been facing. Zuko was about to say something when Percy stepped back. "Go ahead, I'll catch up." 

Zuko looked like he was about to protest, but Percy held up a hand, giving him an encouraging smile. 

"You have until I catch up to fight him, or else I'm stopping you," Percy smirked, hands on his hips, "This guy is some kind of hero, right? Heroes are the good guys, so I've gotta help him out. Besides, you were totally lying about wanting to fight him." 

Zuko gave him a half-hearted glare before it morphed into a smile, "Thanks, Percy," he said, turning and riding off to catch the Avatar. Percy's smile dropped as he left, and he watched the dust cloud disappear. 

"Whelp, time to get moving," he huffed, following the tracks. 

\--- 

When he caught up with them, there were way more people than he thought there would be. He spotted his friend standing beside a few other people in a semicircular formation around what looked like the corner of a building. The other side was obscured from his view, but they were all facing it and seemed on edge. He walked toward the building, hoping to sneak up on whoever Zuko was attacking, but he started when a giant plume of fire suddenly burst into the air. 

Then, a girl flew past him, fire shooting from her feet as he looked at her in surprise. Her eyes widened when she shot past him like a bullet, but she didn't slow and was soon out of sight. He turned when he heard his friend's agonized screams, rushing toward the sound as recklessly as ever. 

He noticed a group of four people run away from his destination and continued forward, hearing someone's voice yelling at him to turn back. 

When he got to his destination, Zuko was kneeling beside an older guy with his head bowed, tears running down his face. Percy gasped and rushed forward, not even pausing when Zuko turned to him with fire at his fingertips, ready to strike. 

"Percy?" he asked, quickly wiping his tears away as his friend kneeled to take a look at his uncle. Percy winced at the damage, dipped one hand in his water pouch, and placed the other above the burn and let the water start working. 

"I'm sorry, Zuko," he said, straining to heal the old man and speak at the same time, "I should have gotten here sooner." 

Zuko shook his head, holding his uncle's hand to his face as he tried to take deep breaths, "Thank you," he grunted, sniffling softly, "thank you, Percy." 

\--- 

The next day, Percy watched over Zuko and the Fire Prince's uncle, Iroh. Zuko refused to leave the old man's side, so Percy brought him everything he needed from the surrounding abandoned buildings. As they waited, Zuko explained what had happened between his uncle and himself, and how he felt horrible about what he did. Percy listened quietly, knowing that Zuko didn't want sympathy or pity right now. 

The demigod dusted off the blankets as best he could, rolled them up under Iroh's neck for support, and filled the room with lighted candles when the sun started to set. Zuko already had a teapot ready and asked Percy to look for some leaves. 

Percy smiled when Uncle Iroh finally awoke, sitting down while Zuko helped the older man sit up. 

"Hi, I'm Percy," he introduced, holding out a hand to shake. Uncle Iroh seemed surprised by the gesture, but reciprocated, grasping his forearm rather than his hand. Percy was a little surprised but figured it was just another thing about this odd world. 

"My name is Iroh. Are you a _friend_ of my nephew?" he asked, seeing Zuko's face turn red at the observation. 

"I like to think I am," Percy grinned, eliciting a loud belly-laugh from the man. Zuko shot him an exasperated stare. When Iroh decided to teach Zuko how to use lightning, Percy was left to figure out what he should do as they trained. 

He decided to attack nearby rocks and dead trees with his sword while his companions trained in fire-bending. He didn't want to fall out of shape--a monster might appear out of nowhere, like he had, and attack them. Or that chick from before might come back and try to kill Zuko's uncle again. 

After most of the day passed by, he noticed that Zuko kept getting more and more frustrated while his uncle had fallen asleep off to the side. Zuko yelled in frustration, slamming his fists into the ground and essentially pouting. 

"How's the yin and yang going?" Percy asked, wiping sweat from his brow as Zuko sent him a glare. 

"I can't do it! Nothing ever goes right for me," he exclaimed, gripping his hair in frustration. Percy watched him sympathetically; he could remember the time when he had first joined Camp. Everyone around him was so good at sword fighting, even the children! Only he was horrible at it. He remembered the frustration of trying and failing to do something that others seemed to find easy. 

"Hey, come on, that's not the attitude of a winner," Percy reprimanded lightly, watching Zuko's shoulders slump. 

"But nothing I do is working, and I just keep getting more and more frustrated," Zuko complained, throwing his arms into the air in frustration and falling down to the ground to glare up at the sky. 

Percy placed a hand on his shoulder, "It's all in your head," he said, sitting beside Zuko with a sigh, "If you think it won't work, then it won't. So, just believe that you can do it, and you will." 

Zuko looked up at him with confusion (and also a bit of annoyance), so Percy stood up and decided to go for a little demonstration. 

"Here, imagine this. I'm distracted talking to you right now, and I'm not focused," he held up a hand toward their water pouch, continuing while his brow wrinkled, "no matter how hard I try, I can't move the water while I'm talking to you, it's something that requires focus," as he said this, the water pouch wrung itself up and exploded, leaving Percy a panting mess as he fell to his knees. 

Zuko jumped up reached out to help him but hesitated. Percy held up a hand, giving him a reassuring smile, "See?" 

Zuko nodded, "I guess so," he replied, taking a deep breath and looking inward. He knew that something was bothering him and that he wouldn't be completely focused like Percy said until he addressed it. 

He thought back to what had been ailing him recently and realized that he was questioning his loyalty to his family. His father and sister had always been against his uncle, and now he was traveling with that very uncle. 

That had to be it, he was worried about betraying his family. But they didn't care about him, and he didn't care about them. 

Didn't he? 


	3. The Road to Ba Sing Se

###### 

The Road to Ba Sing Se

Percy had a dream.  

_Well, it was a little more than that, but that's how it started. He saw a huge desert and had a feeling like he really needed to find something. He was seeing it from a bird's-eye view, soaring over the sand dunes, and searching. Always searching._   

_It was scorching, he could tell that there was no water nearby. That didn't matter as much as finding him . . . who? He was looking, he needed to find him, he was stolen! They stole him! Who was stolen? He grew frustrated and landed, looking around again before he smashed something into the ground, creating a huge cloud of dust._

_Then, Percy saw a boy wearing a weird red and orange outfit and --_

_The scene had changed. Now, he was in a forest, seeing a large, white animal who looked scared and alone. It had shackles on its six feet, and what looked like thorns in its body. It looked directly at him before looking past him and growling. He turned and saw a gang of girls find the animal. They helped him, cleaned him up, and were about to help him find "Aang."_

_The girls were forced to send the animal on his way when the girl Percy had seen running away from Zuko appeared and attacked them. The giant beast flew away, landing inside a city with giant walls before being swallowed into the earth._

_A low voice called out as his vision got darker,_

_"Help him."_

\--- 

Percy woke with a start, surprising Zuko who was walking beside the Ostrich-Horse, and Uncle Iroh who was sitting behind him. 

"Percy?" Zuko asked, furrowing his eyebrows as he looked up at him.  

He smiled, "It's nothing," he lied, pulling back the Ostrich-Horse's reins and dismounting, "besides, it's your turn to ride."  

They continued until Zuko heard a noise, turning to find a group of five men, all armed differently, and riding on the backs of some kinds of giant, lizard-dragon hybrids.  

Uncle Iroh took them down quickly, and they escaped on the Ostrich-Horse who complained about the weight using very colorful language the whole time.  

"Don't you have any old friends that _don't_ want to kill us?" asked Zuko, he was understandably annoyed after a long time of slow traveling. The comment brought them to a village beside a desert, the very same desert that he instinctively knew was the one he saw in his dream.  

When Zuko and Uncle Iroh went into the bar, Percy abstained, looking over the desert with curiosity. He could still remember the heat and the thirst he felt in his dream. He turned to the melting ice glacier, frowning when he sensed that there was a well of untapped water underneath it.  

Percy wondered how the glacier stayed frozen in this heat but inspected it curiously. He could feel its desire to shoot into the air, to grow higher than it was, but it also seemed to be blocked by something. He remembered something Annabeth had spoken about in the past, tectonic plates and the earth shifting.  

Maybe the earth had shifted to cover the well. Percy knelt down, placing his hands on the ground and focusing. Before he could consider if this was a bad idea or not, the water had grasped on to his gut and he felt that familiar tugging sensation. The ground rumbled loudly, it sounded almost like a burp, before forcing the water to fly into the air. He was amazed when it flew up, freezing as it came into contact with the air. 

When Zuko and Uncle Iroh finally came out, they immediately rushed into a flower shop. Percy ran to join them just in time Uncle Iroh went into his secret hideout in the back room, leaving Zuko and Percy to wait outside.  

"What happened?" Percy asked, leaning against a wall as Zuko pouted his way around the shop. 

"There are wanted posters with our faces on them," the Fire Prince replied, letting out a deep sigh "Uncle has some friends who can sneak us out of here without being caught." 

"Oh," Percy replied, it reminded him of those old western cowboy films when almost the entire town was out looking for the criminals, "cool." 

\--- 

The next morning, they were smuggled away from the small town (if you could even call it that) in giant flower pots and given false passports. Uncle Iroh seemed to know that Ba Sing Se was the best place to go.  

As they walked, Percy couldn't stop thinking about his dream, "Does this Ba Sing Se place have, like, a big wall?" He asked, kicking a stone out of the path.  

_"A_ wall?" Uncle Iroh asked, laughing deeply from his belly, "Ba Sing Se has the most magnificent walls in the entire world!" 

As they approached the hidden port, Percy caught a glimpse of the thin rock walkway and felt an odd compulsion to go that way. Shaking off the feeling, he followed Zuko and Uncle Iroh to the ticket desk to wait in line. The lady at the counter gave them all a suspicious one-over but seemed to give in when she saw Zuko's scar.  

When they were heading towards the docking area, Percy paused when he noticed a fight starting on the opposite side of the cavern. Zuko and Uncle Iroh were a few steps ahead so they didn't notice, but Percy couldn't help stopping when he heard a crying child.  

Well, crying was a euphamism. The little girl was practically screaming, one hand fisted at her eye as a man who had to be her father yelled at another man. Her father looked pretty average, had an average build almost like a farmer. The man he was yelling at was wearing some pretty fancy robes and gave the other man a sneer each time he spoke.  

When the fancily-dressed man reached for the little girl, the farmer tried to stop him but was held back by three tough-looking thugs. Percy bristled and stomped over toward them, ready to give that fancy man a lesson.  

They were leading the farmer out of the cavern, toward a back area where nobody was looking, and Percy made it just in time to see them push the man over and start kicking him. 

"Hey!" he yelled, stashing his sack at the last second in case they tried to steal it. The thugs and Fancy Man looked over, pausing in their attack as Percy approached. "Leave them alone." 

Fancy Man scoffed, "Go away, boy, you don't know who you're dealing with." The little girl was shaking like a leaf in his grasp, and Percy knew he couldn't leave her like this.  

In a moment of pure courage, the girl pulled away from Fancy Man and yelled, "They're trying to take me away! Please, help!" 

Fancy Man scowled and pulled her close, trying to cover her mouth, but it was too late. Percy felt his stomach drop and the skies around them darkened as he glowered at the men.  

"You have about three seconds to leave peacefully, and no one gets hurt," Percy offered, feeling a degree of satisfaction when the thugs hesitated. Fancy Man scoffed again, Percy was getting tired of his prissy attitude.  

"You know what to do," he ordered the thugs, standing back and watching with his hand clamped tightly over the girl's mouth.  

Her father was struggling to get back up but, at this rate, he wouldn't make it. Percy gave them a grin, ducking when Thug 1 rushed forward and threw a fist. Thug 2 was coming up on his side, so he moved just in time for Thug 2's fist to slam straight into Thug 1's abdomen, knocking the wind from him. 

As Thug 1 fell to the ground and Thug 2 tried to help him, Thug 3 had managed to earth-bend a huge boulder toward Percy. Percy let out a yelp and fell to his knees, barely dodging the boulder as it sailed over his head and smashed into the wall.   

While he was down, Thug 3 slammed a foot into the ground and a spear of rock flew toward him. Percy rolled to the side, grateful for his Roman training, and it slammed into Thug 2, who had been sneaking up behind him. 

Thug 2 was blasted back into the rock wall, unconscious, and Thug 1 had finally managed to get back up. Thug 1 rushed at him like a bull, and Percy played Minotaur with him, jumping out of the way at the last second and letting him rush himself into the rock wall behind him, grinning when he heard a satisfying _thump._

Thug 3 hesitated when his friend went down, but a barked order from his master had him bending more earth toward the demigod. Percy'd had the pleasure of seeing the fighting style of earth-benders back when Zuko was fighting them, so he figures that they were probably pretty straightforward attackers.  

Taking advantage of his tentative knowledge, he jumped to the side and allowed the dust to form a cloud around him when Thug 3's boulder hit the wall. Before the thug even knew what was going on, Percy had rushed around the side and appeared behind him. The half-blood clenched his hand together and brought them down on the side of Thug 3's neck, knocking him out and even leaving a small dent in the ground.  

He grinned. "Sweet." 

Fancy Man, knowing that the battle was lost, threw the girl to the side and ran away. The girl immediately ran to her father and helped him up as Percy walked over, three thugs groaning in their sleep behind him. 

"Thank you so much," the man said, bowing deeply, "that man has been following us since we escaped our home. He knew that I was an earth-bender and wanted me to work as one of his henchmen, so he tried to use my daughter as leverage to force me into servitude." 

Percy scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I just did what anyone else would do," he protested, smiling down at the little girl who was shyly hiding behind her father. "You were very brave earlier," he praised, patting her head fondly. 

She peeked out from behind his leg and gave Percy a toothy grin, "I'm going to grow up one day and be a really, really strong earth-bender too! Then, _I'll_ protect Daddy from those meanies!" 

Percy and her father laughed loudly as she puffed up her chest. They said their farewells and Percy headed back to find his pack, only to realize that Thugs 1 through 3 were gone, and so was his bag. 

_"Schist."_ Zuko was gonna be so mad. 

\--- 

"You lost your _entire_ bag?" Zuko snapped, giving him the most tired and frustrated look Percy had ever seen on another teenager. 

Uncle Iroh sighed and shook his head in the background as Percy shrugged in reply. "I wasn't paying attention?" Crap, that sounded more like a question.  

"How the heck are we supposed to get on the boat if you _lost_ your--" 

Before Zuko could continue, Uncle Iroh stepped in. "Peace, nephew, everything will be all right. We can simply cross the Serpent's Pass," he interjected, giving both teens a calm smile.  

Percy shook his head, "No, you guys are a lot more recognizable than I am. Besides, if anything happens, I can use the water to help me out. I'll just meet you in Ba Sing Se." 

Zuko's eyes widened almost comically and he grabbed the front of Percy's shirt, dragging him forward until their noses were almost touching, "Are you kidding me?" he growled, pushing him back and causing the demigod to stumble. "Don't you think there's a reason they call it the _Serpent's Pass?_ It's supposed to be extremely dangerous!"  

Percy felt his lips turn up in a grin, "One little serpent is no match for all of this," he replied, flexing his biceps proudly. Zuko just stared with dead eyes. Yikes.  

After a few moments of silence (and some pointed looks from his Uncle), the Fire Prince turned around and stomped toward the boat. He snapped, "I better see you in Ba Sing Se, Percy." 

Uncle Iroh gave him a wide grin and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Don't underestimate the Pass, Percy," he said, only letting go when Percy gave him a solid nod. "Find us in the immigrant's area in Ba Sing Se, I will make sure to send Zuko walking around often so that you can find us more easily." 

Percy nodded again and watched the old man rush to catch up to his nephew as they got in line to board the boat.  

\--- 

After wandering around for a while, Percy found himself staring at the entrance to the Serpent's Pass. The waves crashed against the rock walls, and he could feel the ocean lending him it's strength. On one side of the pass, Fire Nation ships crossed the water, bringing cargo back and forth. On the other, the secret port smuggled immigrants into the city of Ba Sing Se.  

He stood there for a while. Ever since they had left that desert town, Percy had felt something calling him, telling him which way to go, and once he saw the Pass, he knew it wanted him to go that way. He didn't know who or what might have been influencing his decisions, but it felt right and he steeled himself to depart.   

He had already decided to hang Riptide at his waist, readily available so nobody would notice him pulling a sword out of a pen. Zuko and Uncle Iroh had probably already departed on one of the ships, and he watched a new ship leave the harbor with satisfaction.  

Then, he heard people approaching from behind. Turning around, Percy saw a group of travelers walking toward the pass. They were an odd group, especially since the ones in front were a bunch of tweens. They almost reminded him of Piper, Jason, and Leo. The group consisted of a husband-wife duo (and she was totally pregnant), what was probably a brother-sister combo, a twelve-year-old boy, and a ten-year-old girl. Yep, they were weird-looking.  

They paused when they approached him; Percy wondered vaguely if he was blocking the way until the twelve-year-old stepped forward.  

"We would like to cross the Serpent's Pass," he said, sounding tired. Huh, he probably was blocking the way. But that kid seemed pretty depressed (and somewhat familiar). 

Percy looked at him with confusion and turned back to the pass with a sigh, "Yeah, I was going this way too," he said, pointing at the sign, "I lost my bag earlier and I was trying to read that sign." The boy from the brother-sister combo stepped forward, reading it aloud.  

"Give up all hope," he finished, much to the despair of the husband-and-wife.  

"The monks used to tell us that hope was a burden," the twelve-year-old said, walking toward the sign and continuing until he gave the world's most depressing speech ever. This kid reminded Percy a little of Nico after Bianca had died: sad and lost. The sister of the brother-sister pair walked over and tried to reassure him. Her futile attempt reminded him of Piper after he and Jason had gotten into that argument while possessed by the eido-ghost thingies.  

When the boy turned his dead eyes to him once more, recognition sparked when the demigod realized that this was the boy from his dream. He had lost someone, he recalled, noticing the odd white monkey on the boy's shoulders. That was never a pleasant feeling.  

"I think had a dream about you," he said, wondering if the people in this world would think he was as crazy as he thought he sounded. "I'm Percy, by the way, Percy Jackson. Do you mind if I join you guys?" 

The brother from the brother-sister pair gave him a suspicious look, pulling his friends (sans the husband-wife pair) into a group discussion.  

_"I don't know about this guy,"_ he sounded like he was trying to whisper, but it was way too loud for Percy to not hear. The half-blood felt a bit awkward standing there while they talked about him. 

"So, you guys are headed to Bathing Say?" he asked, and the wife giggled. 

"Ba Sing Se," she corrected. Percy felt a flush of red spread across his face.  

"Yeah, right, that place." 

She replied, "Of course. Our village was attacked by Fire Nation soldiers and we have are going to build a new life within the walls of the safest place in the Earth Kingdom." 

"So you guys aren't all together, then?" he asked, looking at their non-uniform clothes.  

Her husband answered, "Oh, no, they have kindly offered to assist us in crossing the Pass after our passports were stolen at the Port." 

"Hey, I had a similar thing happen to me!"  

Percy thought they were getting pretty close when the tween group broke and turned to the son of Poseidon expectantly. 

"Okay, you can come with us," the brother said, patting the weapon he held on his back and giving Percy an overly-exaggerated look of suspicion, "but don't try anything suspicious, got it?" 

The sister walked up, smacking the back of his head before giving Percy a warm smile, "Sorry about him, he's just like that sometimes," she apologized, holding out her hand, "I'm Katara, and this is my brother, Sokka," 

Sokka let out an indignant _"Hey!"_ as Katara gave away all their names. 

"Nice to meet you," Percy replied, almost starting when she went for a Roman handshake, grasping his forearm with surprising strength. Well, that was new.  

"That's Aang, over there, and our friend, Toph," she continued, waving her hand toward the twelve-year-old, and the short girl. 

"Aang is the Avatar," the mother said reverently, and Percy's eyes widened when he looked back at the twelve-year-old in a new light.  

"Like, bridge of the world, bringer of hope, _the_ Avatar?" he asked, not expecting this depressed tween to be the face of hope and salvation. Sokka sent him a little glare, but Katara smiled. 

"Exactly!" she sounded like she was trying really hard to stay positive. 

"Sounds tough," he replied, turning toward the entrance to the Pass and missing their surprised looks. "How about we get this show on the road?" 

When they started walking, they hardly spoke at all. The path wound its way alongside a thin mountain that went all the way through the lake and was pretty treacherous, widening and shrinking almost as dramatically as the Labyrinth had. 

"So, you're really the Avatar?" Percy asked, making sure to stay ahead of the others since Sokka was still giving him the stink eye. Aang nodded, bending the rock to fix a hole in the path before moving on, "That's cool. Sounds a bit stressful to me," he added, stepping over a particularly large protrusion of stone. 

"Yeah, I guess it can get pretty stressful," the young monk snapped back, interrupted by a Fire Nation ship shooting a flaming ball toward the mountainside. Aang rushed forward swiftly, smacking the ball back to the ship where it melted straight through the middle.  

"Whoa, Bullseye!" Percy cheered, never one for reading the atmosphere properly. Aang's lip twitched and Sokka snickered, receiving an elbow to the gut from Katara for his troubles.  

They continued walking, casually dodging random disasters, and learning more about each other.  

". . . and then, I made this gigantic water fist, like this--" he lifted his fist and the sea water below rose to imitate his hand, not even splashing on the travelers, "--and _BOOM!"_ the fist slammed into the water, causing a huge wave that Katara bent away from their path.  

"All of that just for a spider?" Sokka snickered, and Percy laughed. 

"My best friend is totally scared of them, she screams every time even a tiny one crosses her path," he snickered, pointing at a random rock and letting out a high-pitched imitated scream. 

Aang and Katara laughed, while Sokka lost his sh--uh, lost his mind.  

While they were walking, Aang ended up recounting stories of his lost bison, Appa, and his hopes that he would find him in Ba Sing Se. Those lead to stories about his life at the Western Air Temple.  

"--and Monk Gyatso was the best, he taught me how to make fruitcakes and shoot it directly on to people's' heads!"  

Percy almost cackled at the mental image, barely managing to keep it down to a loud snort.  

"That reminds me of the time my friends, Travis and Connor, painted the entire war cabin pink!" 

Aang's grin widened, "Pink?!" 

Sokka eventually got suckered into the conversation when Percy talked about sword fighting, and they started talking about the Southern Water Tribe.   

"I'm pretty sure we could kick your butt any day," Sokka bragged, flexing his muscles with a confident grin. Percy and Aang laughed, much to Sokka's displeasure, "Hey!" 

Eventually, Sokka got to talking about Yue, the girl he met at the Northern Water Tribe who had become the moon spirit. Percy was surprised that a person could become the moon spirit, and they laughed when Aang recounted the time he and Katara had gone penguin sliding.  

"All you need is a nice, juicy fish, and they'll come right to you," Katara explained, and Percy shuddered. 

"I will never be able to eat fish," Percy proclaimed, eyeing the water like it had done something to him. 

Even Toph was pulled into the mix, and nobody noticed how easily Percy managed to get them to trust him as they walked together (not even the demigod himself).  

They had a pretty good time despite the situation and took time to rest when they found a particularly large crop of flat rock about halfway through the Serpent's Pass. Percy was surprised that they had encountered such little difficulty.  

\--- 

The _real_ challenge came the next day when they got to a section of the pass that was completely submerged in water. Katara got in the front and ordered everyone into single-file, creating a dome of water to allow them to pass underneath. 

Aang and Katara controlled it together as they walked. It was so weird to see people other than himself directing water, but he realized that this was why the water in this world was so . . . tame? There were people capable of controlling it and ordering it around who did so on a regular basis.  

Percy took the chance to see what the underwater view looked like in this world and wasn't surprised to see a little group of fish swim by. He heard their voices calling to him, _Run, run! It's coming!_

"Guys, I think something weird is happening," he said. They gave him odd looks, and Percy pointed just as a huge serpent appeared and punctured their water bubble.  

Percy worked almost automatically, condensing the bubbles and refilling the space with air, but Toph bent the earth into a large pillar, rocketing them above the surface of the water.  

The serpent continued to attack them and Aang called for them to get to safety. Katara immediately made an ice bridge to help the others, so Percy leaped into the sea, riding a wave to where Aang was fighting the serpent while unsheathing his sword.  

Aang started spinning the serpent around in a whirlpool while Percy jumped into the air, swinging his sword down as he fell.  

"Hey, Fishface!" he screamed, gaining the serpent's attention just in time for Riptide to fall straight into the serpent's eye. It screeched loudly, throwing him off before swimming away.  

Riptide sailed through the air, landing among the waves, and Percy flew in the other direction. He yelled, slamming into the side of the rocks before falling down into the water with a splash.  

He heard his travel companions yelling his name, and sighed into the water, allowing himself to sink to the bottom while it healed his head. Spots danced along the sides of his vision, and he soon felt hands grasp his shoulders and allowed them to pull him up, letting out a soft noise when he was dragged from the water.  

"Are you okay?!" asked Katara, wielding some water and placing it against his head gently, healing the wound almost completely. She blinked. What the . . .  

"Yeah, totally fine," Percy groaned, sitting up with a wince.  

"Sorry about your sword," Aang said, looking back at the water forlornly.  

Percy waved him off. "It'll be back," he said, getting weird looks. 

"Maybe he hit his head a little _too hard,"_ Toph observed, still dripping wet. She looked like a drowned puppy.  

After a few minutes, they kept moving, only stopped by the arrival of the baby. They all started freaking out except for Katara. 

When baby Hope was born, they marveled at the life that could still be sustained despite the conditions, and Aang suddenly went through an epiphany.  

The Avatar and Katara went to have a meaningful conversation and Percy smiled as they reconnected. Aang decided to go ahead and find Appa, and everyone said their goodbyes, including Suki who Percy was pretty sure was Sokka's girlfriend.  

Everything seemed to be looking up until Aang suddenly came back.  

\--- 

"Aang? What's wrong, I thought you were going to look for Appa?" Katara asked, worried. They were almost to the walls of Ba Sing Se, and the Avatar had returned with a solemn look on his face.  

Aang lead them up the wall and they saw the giant drill-like thing heading directly for the wall. It brought the civilians to tears. Aang ordered the wall guards to show them to who was in charge.  

"It's the invincible city, they don't call it Na Sing Sei!" the general joked, deadpanning, "that would mean penetrable city." 

They were all unimpressed.  

Percy wasn't surprised when he saw the groups of men easily taken out by the enemy. He _was_ surprised, however, to see that the enemy was actually only a pair of fighters. Katara explained the Gaang's last encounter with them while she interrogated one of the injured men. 

"I know who he's talking about," Katara said, an angry frown marring her face as she continued to heal the guard, "Mei and Ty-Lee. They're friends of Azula, the princess of the Fire Nation."  

Percy's eyes widened, "You mean Zuko's crazy sister?" he asked, getting weird looks from the group. They ended up following Sokka's hastily thought up plan and rushing toward the drilling machine.  

Toph froze, "Earth-benders don't do too go well with metal," she explained, slamming her foot into the ground and pushing a spike up into the belly of the machine from below, "I'll stay out here, you guys go!" 

Percy stopped, "I'll stay with her," he said, using the water from the extra pouch that Katara had given him to help her hold back the drill as much as they could. 

It felt like forever when the three finally re-emerged, and Percy was grateful to see more water, no matter how dirty it was. When Katara bent it back into the drill, Percy and Toph helped to push it all the way inside, clogging the drill and causing the muddy water to squirt out of all the holes in the machine.  

They all cheered at their victory and Percy and Toph shared a muddy, celebratory high-five.  

They looked up to see Aang running down the side of the wall, towards the drill. Finishing off the machine once and for all.  

"He did it! He actually did it!" Sokka exclaimed, grasping his hair in shock with a giant grin on his face.  

They happily entered the city, somehow having easily accepted Percy as a part of their group. Percy grinned; these guys were just a small group of mismatched goofballs, trying their best to save the world. It was so much them back when they were trying to save the world (again) and living on Leo's flying metal ship. 

\--- 

On the ride into the city, Percy decided to split off from the Gaang and follow the rest of the refugees. 

"I have some friends I promised to meet up with inside the city," he explained, grinning widely when Aang smiled at him and gave a little bow. The Gaang was standing in the train-thing, waiting for it to leave and speaking with Percy who waited outside.  

"It was an honor to meet you," the young monk said, and Percy nodded, pounding his fist against his chest and giving a slight bow.  

"And you, Mr. Avatar," he replied, surprising them with his suddenly formal speech, "I also have something to tell you," he added, turning toward the city.  

The Gaang looked at him in surprise, suddenly a lot more suspicious of him than before, "I had a dream before we met. In it, I saw a big white beast flying into this city," he explained, seeing their eyes widen to saucers simultaneously, "he was looking for someone," he gave Aang a knowing look, "but he was taken, swallowed by the earth."  

Aang looked like he was ready to say something, but the demigod grinned suddenly, shouldering his pack. 

"Thanks for helping me get here," he thanked, his change in demeanor surprising them into silence, "good luck finding Appa!" 

They were then interrupted by the train leaving, and Percy waved as they drove off. 

When they were finally gone, Percy turned around, "Time to find Zuko," he huffed, hiking up his bag and walking away, barely noticing the men who disappeared behind a building with their eyes on him.  

\--- 

It took him literally all day.  

He finally found out where to look when he happened to hear a couple of old men talking about the new tea shop manager and his nephew. He only saw them when he heard the boy being dragged away yelling something about fire-benders.  

"What did you do?" he asked, surprising Zuko, who held up his swords in surprise at Percy's grinning face. He waved. 

"Percy!" Zuko exclaimed, handing the swords back to the soldier who he had "borrowed" them from and embraced his friend. Percy grinned in response and wrapped his arms around Zuko, wincing a little when the fire prince brushed against his former head wound. It didn't hurt anymore, thanks to Katara, but he still felt like it was there.  

Zuko noticed his flinch and stepped back, looking at him worriedly, "Are you okay?"  

Percy waved him off, noticing Iroh's look of suspicion, "I'm fine," he promised, sending the old man a knowing look, "really." 

Zuko nodded, easily accepting his words, though Iroh continued to look at him suspiciously.  

"What took you so long?"  

Percy grinned. "That's a long story." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the update last time. I found a typo. As an apology, here is the next chapter.


	4. Zuko's Choice

###### Zuko's Choice

_In this dream, Percy could actually move for once. He was in a dank, underground cell with water dripping down from the ceiling into little puddles on the floor._

_In the center of the room, Appa stood with metal shackles around his legs and was desperately trying to break free. The bison froze when he saw him, hackles raised like a cat and teeth bared. Percy held up his hands in the universal sign for peace and walked forward slowly._

_Appa growled at him and suddenly huffed out a stream of pressurized air from his mouth. Percy paused and turned his head away, holding his ground, surprised as always when he actually felt the air push back against him despite this being a dream._

_When it stopped, Appa was staring at Percy with surprise and the demigod took the last few steps forward to reach the bison. Appa struggled a little but calmed down when Percy reached out and touched his nose without hurting him._

_Appa relaxed and made a sound like he was purring in the back of his throat. Dream-Percy's touch reminded him of all the happy things he had ever experienced. Percy didn't know which god or goddess was helping him, but he smiled as Appa finally relaxed and settled down despite the metal chains._

_The dream gradually faded away and left him with a warm feeling in his chest as he drifted back into the waking world._

\--- 

Each night since his first dream, he had seen visions of what was happening to the bison, and really felt sorry for the animal. He hoped Aang would get there soon; he thought he gave the boy a pretty good hint after all. 

Eventually, Percy felt like he wanted to go looking for Appa, but he also wanted to help Zuko and Uncle Iroh stay hidden. The old man seemed to really enjoy what they were doing, and Zuko even had a little crush to work on. He knew that their small bout of happiness wouldn't last, and he didn't want to end it any sooner than he had to. 

When the time came that Uncle Iroh (a.k.a. Mushi) was offered his own tea shop, the old man was ecstatic. Zuko, on the other hand, was less pleased. 

"Did you hear that? This man is offering us our own tea shop!" Uncle Iroh exclaimed. Percy grinned and Zuko scowled as he delivered the news. 

"I'll try to contain my excitement," the fire-bender growled, stalking out the door and barely managing to stop himself from slamming it. 

Uncle Iroh and Percy shared a look before Percy followed him out. Zuko had been doing relatively well since coming to the city. He had seemed almost happy to see Uncle Iroh living his dream; but now, he was back to his moody and self-focused behavior. What changed? 

Outside, Percy found his friend standing on the roof of a building with a poster in his hands. 

"Hey!" he called, waving at Zuko from below. "What's going on up there?" he asked, stepping back as Zuko jumped down from the roof like a cat. 

"The Avatar is in the city," he announced, almost smirking as an old light appeared in his eyes. Percy frowned, holding up the poster and feeling his stomach sink. 

"And you're going after him?" he asked, unable to look Zuko in the face. He had known this moment was coming sooner or later . . . so why did it feel so horrible? 

Zuko turned and walked away, and Percy could only watch. 

\--- 

That night, Zuko snuck out of their apartment wearing an odd blue mask. Percy sat up and went after him. He had no idea what to expect, and he knew that Zuko could probably face anything on his own, but he wanted to be there for him when everything went wrong. Zuko was . . . 

"Crap," he hissed. He barely ducked behind the wall when Zuko attacked the Earth Kingdom guard. Stupidly, he had walked straight into the alley was almost seen. 

He followed Zuko underground, trying to ignore the churning he felt in his gut. He knew that Gaea wasn't able to reach him here, but nothing good had ever really happened to him underground. Then, he noticed that they were under a lake. He knew in his mind that the water, and the pressure, wouldn't hurt him. He could hear it singing in response to his presence, but flashbacks of the sinkhole in Alaska and the underground room in Italy made his stomach curl up into twisted knots. 

Percy followed Zuko until he couldn't stomach it anymore and left, dissolving into water particles and reappearing on the surface of the lake, gasping. He couldn't even put aside his own issues to help a friend, what kind of hero was he? The water rolled over his feet and he watched the lake until he heard footsteps come up behind him. Uncle Iroh had found him. 

"I'm sorry, Uncle," Percy said, having gotten into the habit of referring to the man as such from Zuko, "I tried to follow him, but we were under the lake and I just couldn't--" he shivered, and the ocean to rose higher, up to his thighs as it tried to relieve his stress, but it was no use. "I can't--" 

"I believe that my nephew will do the right thing," Uncle Iroh reassured, standing behind him to his left and placing his hand on Percy's shoulder as they waited together. They could feel slight tremors from the battles taking place below the surface, and Percy nodded, leaning back on his hands. Percy was distracted, so when the water receded, his legs were left dry. 

"You are much more than meets the eye, aren't you?" Uncle Iroh observed, sending Percy's heart to his throat. 

The more he thought about it, the less he minded Uncle Iroh figuring out his secret. Percy nodded his head and made the water move up and form a little hand that patted the old man on his shoulder. Uncle looked surprised, he had probably never seen a water-bender do that. 

When his surprise faded, Uncle Iroh squared his shoulders and squeezed Percy's shoulder once more before stepping forward. "I will go to Zuko now." 

Percy bobbed his head up and down, feeling his eyes droop. "I'll be here," the demigod replied, exhaustion finally creeping up on him. He allowed himself a little rest as Uncle Iroh found the other entrance and let himself in, lying back in the sand as the old man disappeared from view. 

\--- (the following scene is literally quoted straight out of the episode but with a few tweaks) 

"So, the blue spirit. I wonder who could be behind that mask," Uncle Iroh observed, stroking his beard as he walked into the underground room where his nephew was facing the Avatar's bison. 

Zuko sighed, "What are you doing here?" 

"I was just about to ask you the same thing," the old man retorted, "what do you plan to do now that you've found the Avatar's bison? Keep it locked in our new apartment? Should I go put on a pot of tea for him?" his voice rose as the emotions he thought he had been keeping control of took hold. 

"First, I have to get it out of here," Zuko replied petulantly. 

"And then what?!" Uncle Iroh finally exploded, knowing that his nephew needed this strong-arming. "This is exactly what happened when you captured the Avatar at the North Pole! You had him, and then you had nowhere to go!" 

"I would have figured something out!" 

"No! If his friends hadn't found you, you would have frozen to death!" 

Zuko growled, "I know my own destiny, Uncle!" he retorted, sounding a little more unsure than he thought he did. 

"Is it your own destiny? Or is it a destiny someone else has tried to force on you?!" Uncle Iroh exclaimed, knowing that he had hit hard with that one. 

"Stop it, Uncle! I have to do this!" he insisted. When asked later, he would deny that he could hear Percy's voice saying the same thing. His mind flashed back to the sad look his friend had given him at the sight of the "Missing" poster and he shook his head with frustration. 

"I'm begging you, _Prince_ Zuko! It's time for you to look inward and begin asking yourself the big questions: Who are you? and What do you want?" 

Zuko screamed with frustration, slamming his swords down with a harsh clang. 

\--- (end quote) 

When Percy opened his eyes, the Avatar and his Gaang were fighting Dai Lee agents on the other side of the lake. He watched with amazement as the giant furry creature he had dreamed about flew off, sparing him a slight glance as he flew his friends toward the Earth King at Aang's insistence. 

He grinned tiredly when Zuko and Uncle Iroh appeared, waving at them and failing to get himself into a standing position. 

"Percy? What happened to you?" the young prince asked, placing his hand against Percy's forehead and furrowing his eyebrows. 

"Don't look so worried, I'm good. Just took a little nap and got a bit woozy from the head rush," Percy waved off, peeking at Uncle Iroh over Zuko's shoulder. When the old man gave him the thumbs up, he let out a huff of relief. "Aaand I also may have followed you underground for a little while." 

Zuko scowled as Percy grinned, sheepishly running his hand through his hair, "Hey, come on, I didn't follow you all the way. Just a little." 

Zuko rolled his eyes and helped Percy to his feet. 

"Let's go home." 

\--- 

Back at the Jasmine Dragon, Uncle Iroh tried to reassure Zuko that he had done the right thing. Zuko seemed a bit off and Percy gasped when the teen collapsed with a high fever. 

They got him onto a futon and had a wet towel on his forehead when Zuko came back around. "I don't feel so good," he said, groaning under the sheets as Percy used his hand to check his temperature again. His entire body was shivering, but it still radiated heat like he was using a fire-bending technique. 

"You'll be fine," he promised, wiping some sweat off Zuko's face and shoulders. 

Uncle Iroh walked over with a cup of tea and explained that the sickness came from Zuko's warring personality and actions. He seemed a little cheerful despite it all (quoted from the episode again), "When you come out of it [the inner war], you will be the beautiful Prince you were always meant to be." 

When Zuko woke up again, Percy had to calm him down from a nightmare. Zuko's pale face looked even more sick in the pale moonlight. Percy felt his chest sink; this must be what his mother felt every time he left for war and she couldn't do anything to help him. Luckily, she now had Paul and Percy's new little sibling to keep her company. 

"You're doing great, Zuko," he said, ignoring the way his voice shook and brushing back the fire prince's hair as he leaned up to take another drink of water. "How do you feel?" 

Zuko groaned. "Don't worry about it," the fire-bender replied, flopping back down on the futon. "Like Uncle said, everything is going to be fine once this passes." 

Percy nodded, hiding his frown as Zuko closed his eyes. "Yeah." He looked out the window and jumped as Appa suddenly flew past, "everything's going to be fine." 

\--- 

The next day, Percy freaked out when he woke and saw Zuko's empty futon. He hopped up and rushed out of the room to see Zuko in the kitchen acting surprisingly chipper. He seemed to have completely accepted life in Ba Sing Se. Uncle Iroh seemed happy, but Percy narrowed his eyes at the Fire Prince's cheerful behavior. Zuko couldn't possibly be content with this life of calmness and normality; it wasn't in his blood. The Zuko he knew was too strong-willed and excitable for that. 

Zuko smiled. "Today's a wonderful day." Percy felt a shiver run up his spine at Zuko's creepy personality switch. He wanted to say something, but Zuko was disillusioned and Uncle Iroh seemed really pleased with Zuko's new personality. The "new Zuko" was probably temporary anyway; he would go back to his usual brooding self in no time. 

At Uncle Iroh's new tea shop's grand opening, Zuko seemed genuinely happy for his Uncle. Percy was glad the fire prince could finally be happy for another person's sake. He decided that he would give the old man this at least, but he needed to have a long conversation with Zuko about what he had chosen and how the battle had ended. 

Unfortunately, things never go as planned and Percy sighed when he saw Katara enter the shop. Luckily, she didn't see Percy; unluckily, she did see Zuko and Uncle Iroh. He tried to find a good moment to tell them about it but they were distracted by a messenger who arrived with an invitation to serve tea to the Earth King. 

The next morning, Zuko and Uncle Iroh got ready to go, but Percy decided to stay home. "Three's a crowd, they say," he explained, waving them off from the doors. He felt horrible that he didn't say anything about Katara. He knew she had probably gone to tell Aang about it and wanted to be here when she arrived. 

Perhaps he could reason with her, but she would definitely be pissed about how close he was with Zuko. Well, it's not like he was hiding it from them, he totally told them silly stories about when he and Zuko were traveling around. He just didn't mention the Prince's name or physical description. She was so gonna kill him. He vaguely remembered Zuko recounting things that he had done to the Gaang, and knew that it would take a while (if ever) for the young teens to accept and forgive him. 

Halfway through the day, Percy was feeling more than a little bored. He couldn't run the tea house without the other two, and they still hadn't returned from the Earth King's palace. How long does it take to serve someone tea anyway? Well, since the guy is a King, he probably wants a whole ceremony to go along with it. 

Before he could die from boredom, Uncle Iroh reappeared with a grave expression on his face. Percy peeked over his shoulder, looking for Zuko, but he got distracted by the Dai Lee agent Uncle had tied on the ground beside him. Percy's jaw dropped. 

"What happened?" 

\--- 

Uncle Iroh had decided to ask the Avatar for help. On the way, Percy explained that he had met them on his journey into the city, and Uncle Iroh told him about his meeting with Toph. 

"She is a good girl. I believe that she will help me reason with the others despite our previous encounters," Uncle Iroh asserted. Percy just hoped he was right. Sokka would probably hold a grudge against Percy for not telling him about Zuko and Uncle Iroh. 

At the doors, Uncle Iroh knocked loudly and was greeted by the little blind girl Percy remembered so well. She had a great amount of sarcasm and Percy could relate. 

"I need your help," Uncle Iroh pleaded, much to the surprise of the boys inside. 

After the initial surprise, Aang was the first to notice Percy. His eyes widened and the demigod sent him a little wave and a smile. 

"Hey, guys," he greeted. It was more than a little funny how he could face down gods and sass them to the Underworld, but seeing a couple of tweens made his stomach turn over. The more he thought about it, his cryptic message from before probably caused more trouble than good. In his defense, he didn't have a lot of time and he wanted to get the message across. Unfortunately, he probably spent too much time thinking about prophecies to come up with anything better. 

"Percy? You're friends with this guy?" Sokka asked, giving the old man an accusatory glare, "I knew it! You're a _spy!"_ He pointed dramatically, and the demigod rolled his eyes. 

"Not a spy," Percy grumbled. It was a testament to how little trust Sokka had in him when the teen turned to Toph who nodded, saying that he was telling the truth. "I just didn't _tell_ you guys that I was friends with Zuko." 

He got some gapes and shocked looks while Uncle Iroh took over, explaining the situation and begging for help. 

\--- 

They decided to sneak into the palace to rescue Zuko and Katara and possibly stop a coup d'etat at the same time. To get in, Toph created a tunnel down into the place where Katara and Zuko were being held, and they split up. 

"Oh, no. Aang is not allowed to be outnumbered," Sokka snapped, stubbornly crossing his arms. "You're coming with us." 

Percy rolled his eyes, "Come on, man. You know me," but Sokka gave him a dubious glare. He sighed; he had wanted to find Zuko as quickly as possible, but Uncle Iroh placed a placating hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring look. 

"It will be fine, Zuko has turned over a new leaf and with him and Katara together, we will be able to defeat anyone that comes in our path," the old man preached. 

Percy sighed. When the old man was set on something, he was a total earth-bender. "Okay, Uncle," Percy replied, giving him a short hug and ignoring Sokka's exclamation of disbelief in the background. 

On the way into the palace, they noticed the Dai Lee capturing General Hau. Sokka said, "The coup! It must have started already." 

When the fighting started, Percy was attacked by the Dai Lee agents and tried his best at hand-to-hand fighting but was a little overwhelmed at his first time fighting extremely skilled earth-benders. 

Sokka and Toph were an amazing fighter combo. They plowed through agent after agent, but even they were getting tired. Percy had never experienced a fight such as this one before and found himself using Riptide to prevent rocks from stabbing straight through his abdomen. 

As more fighters joined the brawl, Percy noticed the girls who they had been fighting at the Outer Wall sitting around the Earth King, dressed like Suki had been when they were crossing the Serpent's Pass. 

He didn't see anything else because the agents he was fighting forced him to split from the group. Percy soon found himself being dragged toward the prison cells by the Dai Lee. He waited until they brought him underground before knocking them out and stuffing them into a conveniently placed storage closet. 

It took him a few deep breaths, but he shook off his unease at being underground. He had a mission to complete. Percy decided to follow his gut and walked until he was in an underground cavern. He heard the familiar sounds of explosions and yelling, and rushed toward it only to find Zuko and Azula fighting against Aang and Katara. 

He couldn't keep the horror off his face as Zuko attacked the last hope this world had left, and rushed forward when the fire prince turned on Katara. She was surrounded by Dai Lee, and Percy jumped in just when Zuko was about to land a good hit on her. 

The teen's eyes widened but he kept fighting, "Stop it, Percy!" he yelled, shooting another blast of fire at the demigod as he dodged and slashed a water whip at him, "this is my destiny!" 

Percy didn't draw Riptide. The celestial bronze wouldn't be able to hurt Zuko, and besides, he didn't want to anyway. He couldn't prevent a scream from leaving his throat when Zuko's fire hit him directly in the chest, so hot that it burnt off the front of his shirt and left a bright red mark despite the fire-resistance he had inherited from his father. 

He felt the inside of his chest ache when Zuko paused for a moment and then continued attacking. The whole situation got him remembering Luke's betrayal and he felt tears well up in his eyes. He pushed the feeling down and bent his tears with the water, knocking Zuko back when the fire prince got distracted by Azula and Aang's fight. 

When Katara screamed, Percy turned and gasped as Aang fell. Azula let out a victorious cackle even as Uncle Iroh rushed in and attacked. Percy ran to help the younger teens, turning and meeting Zuko's eyes one last time. He felt more tears slide down his cheeks as he left Uncle Iroh behind and followed Katara up the waterfall. 

\--- 

Zuko ignored the ache in his chest that deepened as Percy disappeared and turned toward Azula instead. He had made his decision, and Percy had made his. 

The Avatar was dead. 


	5. Infiltrating the Fire Nation

###### 

Infiltrating the Fire Nation

On the night after Aang was struck by lightning, Percy had a nightmare. Or what felt like a nightmare anyway. He saw Zuko on a boat, kissing one of the girls they had fought at Ba Sing Se. He could feel someone watching him, could hear unintelligible words, and he could sense the mockery that followed the words. 

It must have been Aphrodite, goddess of love, or Eros, her son. They knew what he had been denying--no, ignoring this whole time. Of course, they would know. It was basically their job to know. He turned away, gritting his teeth. He couldn't watch this. Not Zuko. 

He also knew he didn't have a chance in Tartarus (hell). Especially as he watched Zuko and the girl kiss passionately. When he woke, he found the others scattered around on the beach. They had just met up with Sokka and Katara's father, Hakoda, and the other water tribe warriors, and the Gaang had been giving him the cold shoulder as he struggled. 

When the Earth King decided to go off and travel, Percy went with him. They both disguised themselves as fire nation travelers. He gave the Gaang a few golden drachmas and explained how to contact him if they needed help; he had a good feeling it would work despite the different world. 

After they split up, he went traveling around with the Earth King for a short while. Eventually, the Earth King decided he wanted to experience life on his own and Percy agreed (traveling with a King was a little annoying tbh). Percy didn't know _where_ he was going but he used Sokka's map to make sure he knew that he stayed far away from the Fire Nation as possible while he went. 

When Percy reached the end of the Earth Kingdom, he stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean and breathed in the salty sea air. He didn't even notice the little smile that crossed his face. Even though this version of the ocean wasn't ruled over by his father, there was always just something soothing about being near the ocean (or any large body of water, really). 

He looked down to where the waves crashed against the shore; the drop wasn't that high. Probably not so great for a normal person, but Percy was far from normal. He could probably do a lot more good helping out the fish in the ocean as he used to at Camp. Too bad Blackjack hadn't made the trip with him, they might have found another cow-fish hybrid that he could name Bessie #2 and save the world with again. He snorted at the thought. 

After another long sigh, he let himself slip from the edge of the cliff, hurtling into the churning waters below. 

\--- 

Zuko startled awake, yelling, "Percy!" He looked around and saw that he was just in his room in the Fire Nation. There was no cliff, no ocean, and no Percy to be seen. He ran his hand through his hair and tried to take some deep breaths. Percy wouldn't just jump off a cliff like that. He may be pretty reckless, but he wasn't suicidal. It must have just been a bad dream. Something he conjured up after feeling guilty about what he did in Ba Sing Se. 

That had to be it. 

Right? 

\--- 

Well, Percy was fine. (Mostly.) 

Eventually, he found himself spending long nights on the bottom of the ocean, wondering who even sent him here and for what purpose. He had gotten so caught up helping Zuko and then the Avatar that he didn't really have the time to slow down and ask the important questions. 

He was probably on the right track since he _had_ gotten a few dreams about the path he was on while he was traveling with Zuko. Dreams usually meant he was going the right way. When he started getting frustrated and confused, he decided to give up on thinking. People like Annabeth or Will were always better thinkers. Percy was more of a do-er. Like Jason. Brason. (heh) 

After a couple more days on the ocean floor, he decided that learning about water-bending might be a good idea. While he could control water just fine on his own, he was also in a new world, and there might be new rules that applied to it (or something like that, he didn't really know). 

On his way to the Northern Water Tribe, Percy found a bunch of fish swimming around a sunken Fire Nation warship. He must not have gotten as far away from the Fire Nation as he had thought, because it seemed pretty new. The fish were concentrated around a small area near the stern of the ship, which was crushed into the ocean floor with the bow sticking up awkwardly. 

As he got closer, a few fish swam away in fear but the others continued to swarm around the ship. When he could finally see through the crowd of fish, he noticed a small turtle that seemed trapped under the ship's stern. It waggled its front legs pitifully as he got near and his heart went out to the small thing. 

_"It's trapped,"_ the fish were saying. _"It's going to die."_

They seemed pretty concerned about it, so Percy walked over and placed a hand on the ship. (In fact, he was getting a little sense of déjavu.) The boat wasn't too damaged, just a hole in the hull that had probably let on too much water, causing it to sink like this. He wondered how the poor turtle got so squished. 

"I'll get you out," he said, using his index finger to pat the turtle's head reassuringly. "Just hold still, alright?" 

The turtle didn't respond, leaving him to wonder if it understood what he said. On the other hand, it stopped wiggling so maybe it did. Percy called on the deep sea currents to push against the ship and placed his hands on its side with a determined frown. As he pushed, he willed the water to push along with him, increasing the pressure until it started to move. 

He didn't have to move the ship far--just enough for it to fall on its bow, lifting off of the little turtle that seemed a little bigger now that it wasn't smooshed under the butt end of a warship. It swam around with surprising speed as soon as the ship lifted off of its shell and nuzzled up against Percy's cheek in thanks. As it stopped, he noticed what looked like a little sapling growing out of its back. 

Percy heard a small voice say, _"Thank you,"_ before the strange, Turtwig-like turtle zipped off into the darkness of the ocean floor. The fish around him cheered and started swarming, their silvery scales glinting in the small amounts of light that could puncture the water this deeply. 

_"The lion-turtle is free!"_

_"It's going to live!"_

_"Thank you, Protector of the Ocean!"_

Percy winced at his new title, "Hey, I think you're talking about my dad, not me," he protested, but the fish in this world didn't know about Poseidon. They ignored his protests and swam off, probably to spread the word. 

Percy sighed; oh well. 

\--- 

As he traveled, the rumors about him spread and fish would sometimes come and ask him for favors: rescue their friend, break a few fishing ships, even flood a small town. He didn't always do them (especially the thing about drowning the town) but the more errands he went on, the further his new fame spread among the sea creatures. 

When he finally reached it, the North Pole was an amazing sight to behold. It was rather out-of-the-way and had yet to be taken over by the Fire Nation. The city seemed to be entirely made of ice with towering walls protecting the front and moats snaking through the many ice-buildings. Many Northern tribes-people were unhappy and disheartened with the "death" of the Avatar, he noticed. Despite the bad vibes, he was able to meet a good teacher and learn more about the theories behind this world's water-bending. 

Percy found that the odd movements he had noticed the benders doing actually did help with his control, and made it easier to use his powers for long periods of time. A week's worth of training was all it took for Percy to be able to use his skills with water alongside his sword-fighting. 

"You're getting better," Master Paku commented, watching as Percy beat down another one of his students with ease. The demigod grinned widely and Paku mirrored it. 

Percy had learned many new things and almost managed to forget why he was here in the first place. Of course, his momentary joy was soon disturbed. 

While Percy was resting after a long day of defeating every water-bender in the Northern Water Tribe, a rainbow shimmered into existence near the back wall, revealing Sokka's face. The Southern water tribe boy was disguised as a Fire Nation civilian and had a grim look on his face. 

"Percy," he greeted. He had a surprised look on his face as he inspected the rainbow connection (lmao), "Hey." 

Percy turned to the message. Looks like IM-ing really did work here, who knew? "Sokka," he replied, sitting up from the bed he had been resting on, "I guess you've got a plan then?" 

Sokka nodded, looking off to the side somewhere as Katara's voice filtered through the rainbow screen. He said something back and Percy waved when Aang appeared in the image. Katara's voice faded and when Sokka's eyes returned to the image, Percy grinned, "Where and when?" 

The water tribe boy had explained their new plan to him and gave him the coordinates for their meeting spot. "Are you sure you can make it in time? We're leaving in four days." Sokka frowned. "I would have called you earlier, but . . ." 

"I'll be there," Percy replied, pulling a bag out from under his bed and starting to pack. "I've got water-bending, remember?" 

Sokka frowned, "Yeah, but are you seriously planning on water-bending yourself all the way to the Fire Nation? I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that would take longer than four days!" 

The water tribe boy seemed pretty upset about it and Percy sighed, knowing he needed to put Sokka's worries to rest before something happened. "Okay, so maybe I've got a little more than just water-bending on my side." 

Sokka's eyebrows furrowed until his forehead resembled wrinkled paper. "What is that supposed to mean?" 

"It's kind of hard to explain. The truth is, I'm actually not a 'water-bender.' "He paused his packing and used his fingers to make air quotes. "At least, not completely anyway." 

"But you were bending . . . water," Sokka stated. He used his hands to make a flappy motion off to the side. 

Percy grimaced, "Well, yeah, but it wasn't just _bending._ My abilities are . . . hereditary." 

Sokka gave him a blank look. "Well, duh. It's not like a water-bender could be born outside of the water tribe." 

*blink* "Okay. Zuko didn't know about it either so this is gonna be a long story." 

\--- 

Master Paku stood in the doorway as Percy finished explaining things to Sokka and packing his bags. "So you're leaving," he commented. 

Percy froze with his back halfway on his shoulder. "Yeah," he agreed, walking toward the old water-bender, "but I'll always remember what you taught me," he added. He gave Master Paku a proper water tribe bow and grinned when he received one in return. 

"I know," Paku replied arrogantly. Percy almost jumped when he reached out and gave him a Roman handshake. "You'll be just fine." 

Percy smiled, squeezing the old man's arm one last time before waving and rushing down to the docks where he exited the Northern Water Tribe. He knew that Paku was headed off somewhere soon as well, but didn't bother asking about it. The older man liked keeping his secrets. Especially about a certain Southern Water Tribe granny he had been contacting via hawk-mail recently. 

When he got to the water, it only took him small movements to make it do as he wanted. Water-bending was pretty great. He probably shouldn't be surprised; water was his _forte_ after all. 

Percy sent one last glance back at the icy gates of the Northern Water tribe before diving deep into the ocean. Once he was deep enough that he probably wouldn't cause any tidal waves, he willed the water to shoot him off toward the Fire Nation like a bullet. 

\--- 

Percy arrived at the meeting point Sokka had told him about early in the morning before the sun came out. He had been traveling underwater the whole time, giving him the perfect chance to come up with a dramatic entrance. He decided to rise from the ocean, having the water crash in like a tidal wave and push him up to the edge of the cliff side. Someone jumped up from where they had been sleeping, a confused look on her face as she held her hands ready for a fight. 

"Hey," he greeted, "how's it been?" 

Katara's jaw dropped and she sent him a dazed glare. The others were still sleeping, getting lots of rest for the impending invasion; it looked like she was the only one awake. 

"Did you-- what the--- how did you--" she stuttered, they had only contacted him the day they got to the island and here he was, barely two days later. From what they had seen, Percy had been with the Northern Water Tribe, at least a week's journey. They had expected to meet him at the Fire Nation, and even then the chances of him making it had seemed bleak. 

"Ohh yeah." He ran his hand through his hair with a laugh. "Sorry. It's a long story." 

The look of shock on her face was priceless; he couldn't help himself. 

Laughter was what woke Sokka the next morning, he leaped to his feet with his sword drawn and noticed Percy standing next to his shocked sister. 

"You're here!" he exclaimed, putting the sword away and rushing over. He held out his hand and gripped his arm in the good old Roman style. Percy was starting to see a pattern here with the water-tribe. He grinned and accepted it, wrapping his fingers around Sokka's forearm in a firm grasp. 

"Nice to see you again too." For differences, most notably, everyone's hair had grown a little longer, including Percy. Despite his lack of proper shaving tools, he hadn't let himself grow a beard or anything. Sokka had advised him to use his sword. It was a terrifying process, but it got the job done (though not without early on injuries). 

Katara turned to her brother with her hands on her hips and a red face, "Did you know?" she accused, pointing at Sokka who looked confused. 

"Know what?" the water tribe boy asked, holding up his hands in surrender. 

"How he got here so fast!" she exclaimed, noticing Toph sit up from her dirt bed in the background. 

Sokka looked confused for a second before realization dawned on his face, "Oh, yeah! I was supposed to tell you about that." He smacked his own forehead. "When I called Percy to tell him about the rendezvous spot, he was at the North Pole, right? So, he told me that . . ." Sokka briefly explained what Percy had told him. 

Katara let out a frustrated groan, "And you're only telling me this now?" She snapped and stomped off with an exclamation of anger, leaving two confused boys behind her. 

"What just happened?" Percy asked, scratching an itch at the back of his head as Sokka sighed. 

"Don't worry about it, it's probably just a girl thing," he replied, waving Percy over to their temporary camp. "C'mon, we've got a lot to fill you in." 

When the other warriors sailed in and got settled, Sokka prepared to give his war speech. Percy hurt his nose with the huge facepalm he did when Sokka let his nerves take over and his mouth turned into a semi-automatic rifle, spitting out random pieces of information in no particular order. 

Hakoda took over and even Percy felt more excited about the battle. If Sokka looked a little unhappy after the ceremony, Percy didn't say anything. It was probably better to leave cheering him up to his family members. Here, he wasn't a leader, he was just a follower. 

\--- 

_The night after Percy reached the island, he had another dream._

_Zuko and Mei, he had learned her name from the many dreams he would receive of their dates, were watching the sunset and complaining about it together. He sighed, having gotten used to seeing his crush and his crush's girlfriend together all lovey-dovey. He guessed Eros was probably tormenting him as revenge for having made Nico's life so bad without realizing it._

_The whole scene suddenly froze in place. Zuko and Mei were still gazing deeply into each others' eyes and Azula was frozen half-way through telling them about Ty-Lee's tangled hair. He felt a strong presence over his shoulder sighed, hoping that someone was finally going to tell him what he was supposed to do._

_He turned around and saw . . . "Ares?" he asked. The god of war looked different, but the anger that welled up inside from seeing him felt very familiar. A scowl marred his face. "What do you want?"_

_His sunglasses were missing and he wore clothes very similar to that of the Fire Nation's army uniform, but he didn't correct him, so he was probably right. "I've got a message for you, punk," he spat, looking like he really didn't want to be there. Percy figured this guy probably didn't send him to this world, he seemed to dislike it just as much as Zuko._

_Percy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, "So, what is it?"_

_Ares growled. "You better treat me with more respect, punk. I've done you the great honor of coming here myself to give you a message." Percy could have sworn he heard the god mutter something about Hermes getting his butt kicked._

_"Yeah, yeah," Percy grumbled, trying his best to push down the anger Ares' aura brought up in him. "What is the message, Sir?"_

_Ares didn't seem to detect the sarcasm and gave him a proud smirk. "Your goal is to assist the Avatar. The Fire Lord receives help from a minor god who abandoned his post and entered this universe." He scowled and the aura of irritation around him grew heavier._

_"And who would that minor god be?" Percy asked. He peaked an eyebrow and gave the god an exhausted stare._

_Ares' scowl deepened (if that was even possible) and he shifted the long spear Percy just noticed was attached to his back, "Heracles."_

_Percy's eyes almost popped out of his head. "Heracles? Isn't he supposed to be, like, guarding the entrance to the Mediterranean or something?"_

_Ares made an expression like he was rolling his eyes; the odd fireballs in his eyes flickered dangerously. "I said he abandoned his post, didn't I?" Ares growled, spitting at Percy's feet and almost hitting him with the saliva._

_Percy scowled in disgust, turning away. He found himself looking over to the mountain ledge where Zuko and Mei were having their date. They were still frozen in place next to each other, equally irritated at whatever Azula was saying, and Percy's anger melted away into depression._

_"So I have to beat Heracles if I want to go home?" he asked, closing his eyes before turning back to the war god. Ares let out a loud and jovial laugh, something he never thought he would hear out of the war god's lips._

_"There's no way you could defeat Heracles on your own. Even if he's a minor god, he'd still beat your little mortal brains out of your skull in no time."_

_Percy frowned again, rolling his eyes. "Then what am I even supposed to do?"_

_Ares laughed again, but this time it sounded more like a large animal's growl, "That's what I'm here for, punk," he replied, standing up straighter. "You will receive my, and a few other gods', blessings to assist you on your journey. We were only able to send one of you demi-pests over here and the majority of the council decided you were the best choice," Percy could hear the implied 'I don't know why,' and scowled._

_"I don't want your blessing," Percy grumbled. Ares' eyes then glinted in amusement._

_"Well, it's not your decision, punk."_

_Percy grumbled until he felt a strong feeling suddenly envelop him, and he had the feeling that weapons would be easier to wield._

_"You'll get another visitor soon."_

Percy woke with a start, feeling his eyebrow twitch as Ares' leftover aura disappeared. A sigh managed to escape from his lips as he got up and started training again. He needed to get a heck of a lot stronger if he wanted to stand a chance against Heracles. 

There goes his "just a follower" idea. 

\--- 

Zuko was having a horrible time at Ember Island. Every person with messy black hair that he passed on the beach made him double take as he found himself seeing Percy wherever he went. Even when Azula got them invited to the dumb party, he couldn't stay focused on the people enough to avoid looking around every few seconds. 

Eventually, Mei asked him to go get some snacks; she seemed especially irritated but Zuko couldn't keep himself focused on her. He wondered why every moment he spent in Mei's company tugged on his heart and made him feel so . . . wrong. 

His mind was running wild and he couldn't keep a handle on it. It was no wonder when he eventually blew up at that guy who was hitting on Mei. 

When they were younger, Zuko and Mei both harbored crushes on each other. With his return to the Fire Nation, they had taken the chance to start dating, but Zuko found himself unsatisfied with their relationship. Then, when he found himself staring at her thoughts like, "her hair is too long," or "her eyes are the wrong color," or even, "she's too frail," would run through his mind and make him more and more confused and irritated. 

Finally, he blew up at the girls on the beach as they hounded him for answers. He was relieved to go back to the party house and burn the place to the ground because he was finally able to release some of his pent-up frustration. 

At the end of the day, he knew one thing for sure: 

He needed to find Percy. 

When they returned to the Fire Nation, Zuko received the message about his great-grandfather. Frustration was building back up in his system and he couldn't understand why it was still there despite all the gratification he had received from his father and the country. 

His dreams were full of Percy, his thoughts were full of his uncle, and his heart was full of indecision. He knew he was acting like a jerk to Mei, and to the rest of the people around him, but he couldn't bring himself to really care. 

Maybe he just needed to get his mind off of Percy. Zuko tried to distract himself with Mei's company, but nothing worked. When news of the war meeting came, his frustration grew and he tried his best to see rejection in his father's actions. He was so used to rejection, was so prepared for the possibility of it, that he couldn't find content in acceptance. Not from the man that had rejected him and humiliated him in front of the entire Nation. 

Going to the meeting made him realize something. Even with the highest praise and acceptance from his father, he, the person he was masquerading around as, the one his father wanted him to be, wasn't really him. 

Zuko had decided, he got his things ready and wrote a letter to leave behind for Mei. He was going to join the Avatar and, hopefully, find Percy and apologize. 

\--- 

Percy was surprised that Sokka had managed to come up with a submarine based on water-bending. It was an invention that could only be possible in a world where industry and the steam engine weren't as large as physical capability. 

He chuckled as he noticed Aang and Katara having a little conversation together, knowing that they were totally going to get together after the war. When Aang flew away, he watched from the windows with a grin. He knew something _good_ had happened. Especially when Katara came back with a huge blush on her face. 

When they finally reached the Fire Nation mainland, Percy took up his position in front. Sokka had put him there after learning that Percy was a sword fighter. He had drawn Riptide early in preparation, to keep people from freaking out about his magical sword. 

Marching onto the battlefield, Percy remembered of wars he and his friends fought together. The odds were stacked against them almost as much as when he and forty other tweens and teenagers had stood to fight the Titan army of Kronos. This was so going to work out. Percy was definitely ready to fight Heracles and felt his motivation skyrocket as they let out their battle cries and rushed into the fray. 

He followed the water tribe into battle and fought person after person like a whirlwind, using a shield he had borrowed from the water tribe and his sword to defeat anyone that got in his way. 

Nothing could stop him--except for when he noticed Sokka and Katara treating their injured father. Hakoda was out of commission, and they needed a leader. When Sokka came out with his sword, riding Appa, he used his best authoritative voice to bring everyone together under his command, "Everybody, move!" They instantly listened, falling into position and allowing Sokka to call out their signal. 

"Charge!" 

\--- 

Percy was shocked when Aang came back and made his way over to them, fending off attackers as he flew over. Percy rushed over and slid the last few feet on his knees, baseball style, ducking under one last fiery cannon as he reached the Gaang, smiling all the way. 

"Hey, guys. What's the plan?" 

Aang looked distraught. "The entire city is abandoned. The Fire Lord isn't there." 

Sokka's eyes widened and his face drooped. "That's impossible. He has to be in there somewhere. We've gotta look." 

"I'm coming too!" Percy insisted, ducking as another fire-bomb blew up nearby. 

They seemed hesitant, but Sokka interrupted, "Alright. Just be careful." 

When they got to the Fire Lord's palace, Percy was surprised at Toph's ability to so easily see underground. If it was Hazel, she could have probably done the same exact thing. Percy smiled as Toph opened an entrance to the tunnels and they followed her directions deep into the heart of the volcano. 

While Sokka, Aang, and Toph went after the Fire Lord, Percy stayed on the lookout for Heracles. He was surprised the bigot hadn't come out yet; Heracles seemed like the type who wanted to have control over every situation, regardless of his position. 

When Azula appeared, everything went to Tartarus. 

\--- 

Zuko went to his mother's shrine one last time before he confronted his father. He hoped that she would support him in his decision, that she would understand what he was doing. She was always the most compassionate one in their family. 

Meeting with his father was like jumping straight into the sun. His heart was pounding and his head was fuzzy. He was surprised to see that the man standing next to his father, one of the generals, didn't leave when the Fire Lord signaled at them. 

When his father shared a look with the general, he walked out with a nod, sending Zuko a sneer on the way out. As the door closed, he squared his shoulders. 

"I'm here to talk, and you're going to listen." 

\--- 

They had been distracted the whole time--Azula played them like a fiddle. When they retreated, they returned to the soldiers with bad news. 

Sokka apologized profusely, but they wouldn't have it. Eventually, the older fighters decided that they couldn't continue the fight. Percy had never felt so defeated before. Even when the odds were stacked against them, Percy had hardly ever been on the losing side. He couldn't; the survival of the world usually depended on it. 

When the blimps and hot air balloons came out, Percy noticed a familiar figure standing at the helm of the one in the middle. Heracles grinned down at him--he knew that Percy was there. 

Percy scowled, surprising his companions as he unsheathed his sword and glared up at the sky. "There you are." 


	6. Heracles and a Decision

###### Heracles and a Decision

Heracles leaped down from the metal blimp and the Gaang gasped as he fell like a rock. An enormous dust cloud mushroomed up from the top of the neighboring mountain when he landed. Percy scowled and felt the blood rushing through his veins as he remembered all the cruddy things this "god" had done to women, especially Zoe.

"Who the heck is that?" Sokka exclaimed. Percy stalked toward the mountain angrily and Sokka grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back. "Dude, come on! We have to go."

Percy turned back, unable to keep the anger off his face. He tried to tone it back when his friends recoiled, but he felt almost as pissed as when Ares was in the vicinity (tbh maybe he was).

"Don't worry, I'll catch up," he promised, clapping a hand on Sokka's shoulder and pushing past him.

The water-tribe boy looked torn, "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked, pulling Percy back by the arm. "That guy just jumped off a blimp and destroyed the top of a mountain. He's obviously an insanely strong earth-bender and you're going to fight him off on your _own?"_

Katara cut in, "He's right. We can't leave you to fight alone." She looked at the kids who were sitting in Appa's saddle. "Aang, you can take the kids to the Temple and we'll meet you there."

Percy and Aang started protesting at the same time.

"You have no idea what that guy is capable of!"

"I can't just _go--"_

"He could destroy--"

"And you're my friends, so I--"

Toph suddenly appeared in the middle of them, stomping a foot and sending Aang flying onto Appa's back. "Just SHUT IT!" Percy jumped and took a step back as the young girl turned her unseeing glare on him.

"We're all getting on Appa's giant back and Aang is flying us out of here," she said, her next stomp shook the earth as she cut off their complaints. "Wait until I'm finished! Aang is going to fly us to that mountain and then we're going to kick some serious butt and _then,_ we'll all escape together."

Percy didn't notice his mouth hanging open until he closed it with a snap. "You guys . . . you--"

Toph held up her hand and slammed his mouth shut with a mud ball. Percy recoiled and his face twisted into disgust. Did she seriously just throw mud in his face?

"Save it for the bison," she snapped.

Aang and the others quickly complied, not wanting to get Toph's mud ball to their faces. Aang turned back to the group they were leaving behind with a grimace. He said, "Thank you, all of you, for being here today. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten. We will be back to save you all." The children took one last look at their families and then they flew off.

As Appa took off, the mud on Percy's mouth disintegrated. He hacked a few times, trying to get the smell and taste away. "You guys don't understand who that is," he said, throwing his arm toward the mountain for emphasis.

Sokka snarked back, "Well, you could tell us so we know what we're up against."

They didn't get it. Why didn't they get it? They don't have to fight. They could escape with the kids and go to whatever secret base Aang was thinking of and get out of there. There was no prophecy forcing them to fight Heracles. They had no _reason_ to. WHY would they--

His thoughts were interrupted when Katara's hand appeared on his shoulder, jostling him back to reality. He turned to look at her and realized that he had curled up into a ball.

"Percy, we're your friends. We won't let you go there alone." And the pieced clicked. _Because we're your friends! she said, tossing her blonde princess curls over her shoulder. Duh, Seaweed Brain, what other reason would we have?_

Percy slapped a hand to his face. What the heck had he been thinking? Was he getting stuffed up by some prophecy? Since when did Percy Jackson ever care about prophecies? "Alright," he said, running a hand through his hair as the Gaang shared victory fist-bumps. "But there's something you all need to know." He shifted so that his legs were crossed and placed his hands on his knees as they gathered around. The mountaintop was in sight now and Appa would be landing soon. "That guy, his name is Heracles. He's a god."

The Katara and Sokka shared a look while the younger kids started whispering among themselves. "You said that gods are like spirits, right?" Sokka asked, peeking over Appa's saddle at where Heracles was proudly standing. "So he's, like, super-strong and impossible to beat?"

Percy nodded, watching as the weight of what they had just signed up for sank in. "He's weaker in this world," Percy explained, "and the gods have temporarily given me their blessing so that I don't die immediately when he looks at me." Katara's eyes widened. "I was only supposed to slow him down long enough for the Olympians to drag him back to our world. The spirits in your world seem pretty unhappy about him helping the Fire Lord destroy everything."

Aang's voice called out from where he was steering Appa, "Guys, we're landing now."

Percy nodded and turned back to the group. "I get it if you wanna back off now. This isn't a fight that we can walk away from without injury. Whoever comes with me is definitely going to get hurt. You could even die."

Silence rang out as everyone looked down, thinking hard about what their friend was saying. Katara was the first to speak. "So what you're saying is that you weren't planning to survive this fight?" she asked, glaring at the demigod with a familiar light in her eye. He gulped; Katara reminded him of his mother when he was about to go on a really dangerous quest.

"Well, the odds were like, fifty-fifty."

She slapped his shoulder with a scowl. "Well, make that 60-40 because I'm coming with you."

Sokka shook himself out of whatever was keeping him quiet and he lifted his sword. "Hey, I'm coming too! I was the one who said you can't go by yourself; how lame would it be to chicken out now?"

He was interrupted by Toph standing up and walking to the side of the saddle. Percy hadn't even noticed that they landed. "Well, come on, losers, we don't have all day!" she snapped.

Percy just shook his head and laughed. Even though he had left them after Ba Sing Se and their raid had not panned out as planned, these kids were still willing to help him in a problem that wasn't even theirs to begin with. "Thanks, guys."

He slid down the Appa's side and made eye contact with Heracles. The god smirked and Percy stepped forward, surrounded on either side by his new friends. Just when he thought the surprises were over, Aang hopped down and Appa flew off somewhere with the other kids.

The Avatar spun his staff and stood tall, smacking it on the ground as Momo flew around above them. "We're _all_ here for you, Percy," he said, flicking his new glider open with a determined look on his face. 

Percy nodded. "Then get ready," he said, shoving a hand into his pocket and grasping Riptide tightly. "Try to stay as far away from him as you can. One hit from his sword and you're done."

Heracles dramatically swung his sword over his shoulder and strutted forward as the teens prepared themselves for his attack. At least being in another world didn't change the fact that the gods loved their theatrics. Psh, trying to show off like that--this guy wasn't even cool. Jumping off of schist earlier like a rabbit. What a loser.

Okay, so the guy was pretty attractive. (Only physically!) But, he was still a massive d-wad and he needed to go down.

"Perseus Jackson," the deserter greeted with a predatory grin on his face. "Nice to finally see you in person. I'd heard you were too scared to face me in my prison." Percy gritted his teeth and felt a vein throb on his forehead. Heracles was obviously referring to the time Percy stayed on the Argo II while Jason and his friends confronted him. But he only stayed back to keep himself from punching dis b*** in the face! He was totally not scared. 

Percy rolled his eyes, "Nobody's scared of you," he scoffed. Heracles' face turned red and Percy smirked--an angry god was a foolish god, after all. Percy pulled Riptide from his pocket and uncapped it, revealing a three-foot, bronze sword. 

"Didn't you lose that at the Serpent's Pass?" Sokka asked, staring at the lightly-glowing metal with awe. 

Percy peeked over his shoulder at the water-tribe boy with a grin, "I told you, it always comes back to me."

Heracles laughed in his face. "You think you can fight me with that?" The god gestured at him with his own sword, "That pathetic little twig used to be mine, you know. It was weak then and it's weak now." 

Percy scowled and aimed Riptide at the god slowly, "Don't talk like that about the gift my father gave me. Just because your dad had to send me here to drag you back home to ground you doesn't mean you have to be rude to other people."

Jackpot.

Heracles roared. "Father wouldn't send someone as weak as you to fight his most impressive son!" Then he charged.

"Why would you make him mad?" Sokka exclaimed, pulling out his trusty boomerang and aiming it right for the angry god. Sokka kept babbling in fear as they rushed around to try and surround the god. Percy could admit that this was probably not the best plan he'd ever come up with, but he hadn't really thought about it too much before they got there. Planning was more of an Annabeth or a Nico thing.

As the god rushed forward, Aang aimed a torrential wind directly in his path and Toph broke up the earth to make his footing unstable. Their combined efforts couldn't totally stop him, but it did slow him down. 

Percy's sword clashed with Heracles' and both were surprised when the demigod stood strong. As adrenalin rushed through his veins, Percy could see a red tint covering his vision and felt the blessing of Ares doing its job. He silently (grudgingly) thanked the war god for his contribution. So this was what Clarisse felt during the war. Percy could take on a few dozen tanks right now! He let out a vicious yell and swung his sword again.

They clashed a few more times as the Gaang rushed out to get more distance between themselves and the god. Katara reached up and bent one of the clouds into a floating whip of water and slashed it toward Heracles to keep him from attacking Percy again.

The god screamed in anger and slashed his sword through the air, trying (and failing) to hit the water. Then, Heracles swung his sword in a wide arc toward Percy's head. He ducked and thrust his sword into Heracles' unguarded side, growling when the god's shield got in the way. 

When Heracles tried to counter-attack, Percy felt a rush of wind pushing at his back, helping him move faster and strike quickly. He was a little miffed that the gods would use him as a puppet during his fight, but it was probably just their way of taking care of godly business with him in the middle. As usual.

Heracles must have realized that Percy was at the top of his game and decided to try and throw him off or something because he said, "You think the _gods_ care about you?" He then sneered, swinging his sword so hard that it knocked Percy onto his back. He stood triumphantly above him as Percy clutched his side and groaned. "You're just easily accessible for them," he hissed. With one foot, he kicked Percy and he skidded back a few yards. The god stalked over to him with a smirk, adding " . . . and disposable."

Before he could take another step, a huge chunk of rock slammed into his side, throwing him toward the side of the mountain. Percy couldn't tell if it was Aang or Toph, but both of them moved together like they were performing a dance, thrusting their arms to the ground and creating a huge crater that swallowed the god up. They tried to slam it closed, but Heracles leaped out before it closed, a savage glare on his face as he turned his attention to the benders. 

"You're weak!" he cried, lifting his sword and slamming it into the ground, causing it to shake. 

Toph wasn't expecting it and yelled as she was knocked off her feet, landing with a _thud_ on her back. Percy winced; hopefully, she didn't hit her head there. 

Sokka appeared behind the god with a yell, swinging his bone-club at Heracles' unguarded back. Heracles yelled in outrage as Sokka's club bounced off his shoulder. It probably would have left a nice-looking bruise if Heracles could actually get bruised. 

Instead, Heracles slammed his shield into Sokka's side, sending him rolling off toward the edge of the mountain. Katara was at his side in seconds. Percy rushed toward the angry god, ducking and slashing Riptide up at his side with a yell. 

From above, Aang sent down a slash of air and Percy had to jump back to keep himself from being hit by the cross-fire. Heracles lifted his shield up to block it, and Percy saw his chance. Golden ichor flowed out as Heracles yelled in pain and anger, looking down at the sword protruding from his chest with a snarl. 

Percy was thrown back as Heracles blasted him with a burst of wind that reverberated through the air like ripples on the water. He pulled himself into a ball like the Romans had taught him and rolled himself to a stop, landing on his knees and lifting Riptide just in time for Heracles' sword to slam down on his, pushing his feet about an inch into the ground. 

Percy couldn't feel his arms as the vibrations from the strike rushed into his spine, immobilizing him for a few seconds. That was all Heracles needed to land a solid kick in Percy's ribs, sending him rolling back again until he slammed painfully into the mountainside. He was barely able to gasp in a breath of air as colorful spots danced in his vision. 

He thought he heard someone calling his name, but everything sounded like it was underwater. Darkness danced around the corners of his vision as he tried to re-orient himself. Percy groggily lifted his sword, but no more strikes came, and he sat, stunned, for a few minutes until his vision came back. Aang and Katara were working together to bend a blob of water back and forth, keeping Heracles on his toes as he tried to dodge or counter the floating liquid. 

Sokka must have been out of commission somewhere because Percy couldn't see him, but he _could_ see Toph as she made a series of hand movements and aimed a huge rock spear at Heracles' back. It slammed into his shoulder, leaving a gash the size of Percy's fist, and more golden ichor dripped onto the ground as the god screamed in frustration. 

Percy had to get up, he realized, reaching out with his hand to use one of the boulders as an anchor. Pain shot up his spine when he moved and he stumbled, barely managing to sit himself down on a piece of rock and dirt. Okay, maybe a few more seconds. The rock must have fallen off of the mountain when he slammed into it or something. When he placed his hand on it, two inches of dirt crumbled away from the surface and he silently thanked the gods that the whole thing didn't just collapse beneath him. 

"Aang!" 

Percy's eyes shot up just in time to see Heracles use his shield like a baseball bat and smack Aang right off the side of the cliff. The Avatar came flying back up again a few seconds later, but Percy was back on his feet and rushing to the battle immediately. He couldn't let his friends fight a god while he just sat on the sidelines!

Remembering Uncle Iroh's words, Percy breathed in deeply and let out a huge breath. The water particles in the air solidified into mini projectiles that flew at Heracles and forced the god backward. Katara took the chance to back off and look for Aang who landed beside her and said something. 

Percy didn't have a chance to listen, though, because he was quickly attacked. He grinned when he realized that Heracles' attacks had grown weaker. He slammed Riptide down on Heracles' shield and pushed him backward, using a kick to knock him off his feet. Heracles lost his footing with a shout. Percy was caught off-guard when the god threw his sword at him and yelled when it slashed through his side. 

"Ahhhghh!" Oh, man, that one hurt. That definitely hurt. He got back up with a wince and was met with the sight of Heracles covered in rock, completely immobilized except for his head. 

"Release me!" he shouted, his head wiggling back and forth as he, probably, tried his best to get free. "Release me this instant, you filthy _insects!"_ Toph had a huge grin on her face even as she and Aang struggled to keep him still. 

Sokka re-appeared, looking minorly embarrassed about his absence. "You guys got him?" he asked. He let out his signature whining noise, somewhere between a groan and a squeak, and said, "I wanted to help, too!"

When the rock started to crumble, Katara used the water from the sky to soak the inner layer of dirt with water, making it mud so that she could assist them in holding him down. "What do we do now?" she yelled, making tired eye-contact with Percy when he reached out and helped her hold down the water, one hand still clutching his injured side.

As she spoke, a bright beam of light cut through the sky, landing in a small dot right where Heracles' chest would be. Holding Heracles down, even with the help of his friends, was almost as heavy as holding the weight of the sky (speaking from experience here). He felt something wet dripping down the side of his leg and tried not to think about it. Percy had to put in his maximum effort, and even then he could feel his grip slipping. 

"Any day now . . ." he grunted, calling on more water to push down on Heracles' legs, which had gotten loose and were wiggling around like a Magikarp. 

The light slowly grew larger. "No!" the god screamed, doubling his efforts to break free. One of his arms broke out of the rock shackles and clawed desperately at the earth.

"Hold him down!" Aang yelled. He and Toph widened their stances and _pushed,_ causing the earth to sink another few inches into the ground around Heracles. 

The god was full-on panicking now, his screams causing bursts of air to fly out from his mouth like dragon fire, and the sky grew darker as his fear called in a storm. The bright light grew steadily larger, now engulfing most of his torso and arms. 

When the light started to intensify, Percy yelled, "Look away! If you watch, it could blind or kill you!" The Gaang quickly got the message and, with a firm grip on their bending, closed their eyes and turned their heads away as the light finally exploded into a sea of light. 

They all collapsed together as the weight they were struggling against disappeared. The benders gasped for air, and Sokka let out a victory yell, dancing around as the light slowly faded. 

"You did it! You _did it!"_ he yelled, rushing to his sister and giving her a huge hug before dragging them over and doing the same to Toph, Aang, and Percy, who winced. 

Katara let out a breathy laugh, "No, _we_ did it," she corrected. Her words brought out some weak chuckles as the adrenaline from the fight slowly bled out of their systems. She half-stumbled, half-crawled over to Percy's side to use her water healing on his side.

"That was totally awesome," Toph added, collapsing back into the ground and creating a Toph-shaped dirt-angel as she relaxed. "Let's do this again tomorrow."

Percy laughed; do that _again?_ No, thank you. Once was enough for this lifetime. Hear that, Fates? This is a request. Just once. Never again. He wasn't even sure how that worked. 

_Percy._

The Gaang and Percy turned toward the hole where Heracles had once lay and noticed that the light was still faintly shining over it. Inside, a rainbow formed and a man's face appeared. He was slightly tan with a heavy mustache and a nicely trimmed beard. His sea-green eyes sparkled like the sea on a good day and Percy could spy some pearly-whites shining out from under his beard. 

"Dad!" he exclaimed, barely managing to sit up while Katara scolded him and continued healing. "Did you see that, Dad? It was totally awesome!" 

Poseidon's eyes crinkled as he smiled at his son and Percy found himself grinning right back. "You did great, son. Even the gods of Olympus were impressed with you and your friends." 

Percy peeked back over his shoulder at the quartet of gaping heroes, snorting at their expressions. He waved them over and moved to the side shifted slightly so his father could see them. "Guys, this is my father, Poseidon, god of the seas and shaker of the earth." 

Poseidon looked pleased with his dramatic introduction; he smiled at the Avatar and his friends. "You have all done well. The spirits of that world are pleased now that Heracles is no longer throwing off their balance and making mischief. Thank you all for assisting my son. If he had to fight Heracles alone, he surely would be more badly hurt, if not dead." Percy had to hold in a wince at those words, but he knew it was true. If he was fighting Heracles alone, he would have been dead twelve times over. 

Aang was the first to regain control of his mouth, "Oh no, Sir, Percy is our friend and helping him out was the least we could do." Poseidon let out a laugh at the Avatar's humble words, turning his Dad-smile on the hero of the Avatar world. 

"Even at the cost of your own lives? I see Percy maintains his knack for making great friends." And with that, Percy was back in the limelight. "Speaking of friends. Your quest is now over, son. If you step into the light, we can bring you home."

Percy froze, tasting the word on his tongue. _Home._ He hadn't even thought about that, which was surprising for him, considering his fatal flaw. His father was offering to bring him home. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again, looking back at the Gaang as his heart sunk in his chest. 

Sokka and Katara had their eyebrows drawn together in a similar way. Funny how Percy had hardly seen the resemblance between them until now when he was faced with leaving them behind. Toph had her eyes facing another direction, but he could still see her frown from the side. Aang's eyes were wide and shifted back and forth between the image and Percy as the demigod thought about it.

Finally, Percy found his eyes wandering over to the neighboring mountain, where the Fire Nation's castle loomed. Torches lit up the building as the sun slowly set on the Fire Nation, reminding Percy of the massive loss these kids had just experienced. Then, he thought of Zuko. Zuko rolling his eyes at something Percy said, Zuko cuddling up with Mei on their picnic blanket, Zuko stomping around as he tried to make sense of something Uncle Iroh said. Zuko. 

A sigh left his lips as he remembered the dreams he had been having. (The ones Aphrodite probably sent.) Zuko had seemed pretty happy, but something was bothering him lately. And then Uncle Iroh had escaped from prison and everything was just a mess. He couldn't leave his friends like that. He couldn't leave Zuko like that.

He didn't really have a choice, did he? "You said that the spirits don't have any more problems since Heracles is gone, right?" he asked. Poseidon's smile withered until it became something more of a grimace. 

"How did I know that was what you would say?" his father joked. Percy laughed shortly, feeling a few tears well up in his eyes as Poseidon took a deep breath. "Are you sure about this, son?"

Percy felt the blood rushing to his brain as he nodded. "I'm sorry, Dad. I can't leave them in the middle of a war. They're my friends." 

Poseidon just nodded, letting out a long-suffering sigh. "I always hated your fatal flaw," he said. Percy felt a surprised laugh slip from his lips; his chest was aching -- this was totally turning into a goodbye speech. "What am I going to say to your mother, then?" he said. 

Percy's heart clogged up his throat and he had to swallow a few times to get out his next words. "That I love her?" he suggested, letting out a small gasp when a tear slipped out of the side of his eye. 

Poseidon gave him a knowing smile, "Of course," he replied, looking off to the side somewhere. "Before you go, though, someone has a message for you."

When Aphrodite appeared on the screen, Percy sighed. As usual, her long, flowing hair (now a dark shade of black) rippled down her back as she gave him a bright smile. "Percy, I just want you to know that I'm fully supporting you, one-hundred percent!" she exclaimed, grinning her perfect smile as he rolled his eyes. "I know I said I would make your love-life interesting, and I think I've done a pretty good job! You weren't the only one getting dreams, after all." She winked one last time and disappeared before he could say anything, leaving the demigod spluttering and red-faced. 

"Wait a second, you did what?" he exclaimed.

Poseidon appeared once more, smiling apologetically as Percy stammered out a few more unintelligible noises. "If you're really staying, I have one last gift for you, my boy." Percy calmed himself down and nodded, bowing his head. 

"Thank you, Father," he said. Poseidon smiled and his eyes misted over as he lifted his hand to the IM. 

"Goodbye, son."

Percy jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Sokka with a grin on his face. Aang and Katara were right behind him and Toph was even closer. She landed a solid punch on his arm and he winced. Despite saying goodbye to his father, he felt his lips turn up into a smile.

As the image shimmered and disappeared, the light steadily grew brighter again, and everyone turned away to protect themselves as it flashed and died back down again. When they turned to look, Percy felt a huge grin spread his cheeks and opened his arms wide. He probably laughed hysterically too, but let's just pretend that didn't happen. 

"Blackjack!"


	7. The Western Air Temple

###### The Western Air Temple

_This chapter is so gay. So, so, so gay. I'm not even sorry. (But I am sorry that this took so long.)_

\---

Percy laughed loudly as a black pegasus galloped forward and slammed into him, pushing him onto his rear as he nuzzled Percy's chest harshly, horsey tears rolling out of his eyes. 

_"Boss! I was looking for you everywhere. Have you been here this whole time? Why didn't you bring me with you? We thought that rock-lady got you!"_ the pegasus cried, stomping his hoof over and over as Percy tried to get him to stop pushing him.

"Blackjack, hey--I'm sorry. Yeah--no, of course not!" Percy stuttered, pushing his giant horse head away. "Come on, man, get off me."

The pegasus jumped, straightening to attention and whipping his tears away with a wing. He stood stiffly like he was waiting for orders. _"Yes, boss!"_ he exclaimed, sounding a lot happier than he probably should have after being ordered around. 

Seeing the familiar winged-horse warmed Percy's heart and he sniffed lightly, brushing a hand under his nose to try and regain his composure. "And stop calling me Boss," he reminded, grinning at the familiar feeling that rolled into his chest. 

Percy's attention was brought back to the present when a strangled noise escaped Sokka's throat and put the pegasus on high alert. 

"What the heck is _that!"_

\---

Zuko worried at his lip as he paced back and forth, trying and failing to think of new ideas to ask the Avatar if he could join their group. He had followed the Gaang all the way to the Western Air Temple after he told his father that he would join the Avatar and help defeat him. Now, he had no idea how to confront them and ask for a spot on their team. They would totally shut him down and he would totally deserve it.

After a full day of moping around, he decided to just do it.

\--- (Some parts in the following paragraphs are taken directly from the episode) ---

Percy introduced them to his flying horse, sorry, _pegasus._ It wasn't that hard for them to accept Blackjack, they had never heard of a pegasus before, but the animals in their world were so unique, it wasn't too far of a stretch. Percy rode on Blackjack's back and the rest of them hopped on Appa to fly toward Aang's safe place, the Western Air Temple.

It took them a while to get there because Appa eventually needed to land since couldn't carry so many people all the way there. As they walked, the adrenalin from fighting Heracles disappeared and the reality of their loss weighed down on them. Fortunately, seeing the amazing scenery of the Western Air Temple helped the younger kids feel a little better and they went sight-seeing right away.

Percy had been banged around the most during their fight with Heracles, so he went to rest in one of the empty rooms when they arrived. Then, Zuko came to visit. Aang, Katara, Toph, and Sokka were sitting around the fountain when they spotted him. His hair was down like it was when they saw him in Ba Sing Se, and he had both of his empty hands out in plain sight.

"Uh . . . hey, Zuko here!"

They stared at him in shock for a hot minute before arming themselves and glaring at the intruder(?).

"What are you doing here?" Katara spat. She lifted her hands and coated them in water-tentacles that curled around her arms like snakes.

He threw his hands into the air in the universal sign for surrender. "I'm not here to fight, I swear!" Zuko kept his arms up to show that he wasn't hostile. "I actually came because--uh, I'm good now and, uh, I think I should join your group. Oh! And, I can teach fire-bending. Uh, to you." When he finished struggling like a stuttering mess, Appa walked over, growled in his face, and left a huge lick all the way up the side of his body.

Of the whole Gaang, Katara's face was the most expressive. She laughed in his face. "You expect us to believe that?" she exclaimed. "Just how stupid do you think we are?"

Zuko's resistant nature took over and his mouth just didn't stop. "I've done some good things too! I mean, I could have stolen your bison in Ba Sing Se, but I set him free! That's something!"

Sokka and Katara were unconvinced, "I'm not buying it," Sokka said, crossing his arms defiantly.

Zuko sighed and his shoulders slumped. "I can understand why you wouldn't trust me and I know I made some mistakes in the past--"

Sokka interrupted, "Like when you attacked our village?"

"Or when you stole my mother's necklace and used it to track us down and capture us?" Katara added, clenching her fists tightly.

Zuko's heart beat faster in his chest and he took a step forward, "Look, I admit I've done some awful things. I was wrong to try to capture you, and I'm sorry I tried to attack you guys, and I never should have sent that fire nation assassin after you. I'm gonna try to stop--"

"Wait, you sent Combustion Man after us?" Sokka exclaimed.

Toph added, "That guy threw me and Katara in jail and tried to blow us all up!"

Zuko let out a breath. This wasn't going anywhere. He turned to Aang, who was staring at the ground silently. "Why aren't you saying anything? You once said we could be friends."

Aang looked to his friends for advice, but Katara was too focused on Zuko. Sokka shook his head, leveling a glare at the former prince. He sighed and stepped forward. "I'm sorry, but we just can't trust you after everything you've done. We'll never let you join us."

Zuko's eyes widened and he furrowed his eyebrows in frustration. "I'm trying to explain that I'm not that person anymore!" He had let his emotions take over again and Sokka held out his boomerang when Zuko took another few steps forward.

"Either you leave, or we attack," he warned.

Zuko's eyes widened, but he seemed to have expected that answer. He quickly sank to his knees and held out his hands. "If you won't have me as a friend, maybe you'll take me as a prisoner." Sokka's eyes widened and Toph's scowl deepened, but Katara instantly attacked with her water, throwing him onto his back.

As Zuko stared up at her with his eyes wide and his mouth gaping she yelled, "No, we won't! Get out of here and don't come back! If we ever see you again-- well, we better not see you again!"

\---

After Zuko left, they tried to figure out what his aim was in trying to join them. Sokka was totally convinced that he was just trying to lead them into a trap. They argued against Aang's attempts to argue for his sake, convincing him that Zuko was just a bad guy.

"And what was all that about letting Appa go in Ba Sing Se? What a liar!" Katara raged, throwing her sleeping bag on the ground and laying it out flat.

"Actually, he wasn't lying."

Toph was standing off to the side, her arms folded as she leaned back against one of the stone pillars.

"Oh great, after everything he's done at least he didn't add animal cruelty to the list," Sokka said, trying to continue the Zuko-dragging competition.

Toph huffed, stomping her foot and causing the earth to shake beneath their feet. "I'm just saying. While he was talking to us, he was sincere. Maybe you all are letting your feelings get in the way. He's a fire-bender. Aang needs a fire bending teacher, and here he is, right in front of you, and you won't even think about it?" she exclaimed.

"Think about what?"

They turned to see Percy walking toward them from the stone hallway. Blackjack had refused to leave his Boss' side, saying that he had searched the entire world looking for him when he disappeared. Now, the pegasus followed Percy as he slowly walked toward the others, trying not to aggravate his wounds.

"Percy!" Aang exclaimed, rushing over to his side.

"You shouldn't be walking around." Katara scolded, "I didn't even get to heal you yet."

Percy just shrugged, "We have that water fountain now, I'll be fine. Anyways, what were you guys all fighting about? It sounded serious."

Toph jumped at the chance to get someone on her side. "Zuko appeared. He said that he was sorry for all the stuff he's done and that he wants to help Aang learn fire-bending, but these chicken-pig-headed jerks refused to even give him the time of day!"

Sokka and Katara were arguing with her again, but Percy's ears had shut themselves off. Zuko was there? Apologizing? He wanted to join their group? Did that mean . . . Was he?

"Right, Percy?"

He jumped when he heard his name and looked up to see four angry tweens looking at him expectantly, "Sorry, what were you saying?"

Blackjack snorted behind him and he tried to ignore that horsey laugh. Did he get sassier over the years, or was Percy just imagining it?

Toph groaned in frustration and turned to walk away. "I'm beginning to wonder who's _really_ the blind one around here," she snapped, stomping off.

\---

The next morning, they noticed at breakfast that Toph still hadn't returned yet. The Duke, Haru, and Teo decided to use the excuse of looking for her to continue exploring the Air Temple. Soon after they left, Toph returned with burned feet. Sokka and Aang decided they should go after him.

Then, Combustion Man reappeared and Percy learned why they called him "Combustion Man."

Zuko appeared in time to save them and tried to get him to stop, but Combustion Man easily pushed him aside. "Is he blowing us up with his head?" Percy exclaimed, rolling out of the way in time for Katara to send all the water from the fountain at the assassin.

Sokka managed to smack him on the third eye with his boomerang and Combustion Man self-destructed. Since Zuko saved them, Aang went around asking for everyone's opinions about letting him join. The Gaang (reluctantly) agreed. Maybe if he stayed behind this pillar, Zuko wouldn't notice him and he would have a little more time to think about . . .

Aang suddenly appeared beside him and Percy jumped. "Percy, you gave up going home to your family to stay here and help us. What do you think?"

He winced and laughed nervously. "Sounds good," he replied, waving his hand and hiding again. "I guess."

Percy couldn't see his face, but Zuko didn't say anything. He sighed. It was a little hard to approach the former prince after everything. Percy decided to stay in an alternate universe for him and he couldn't even face . . . wait a second. He stayed because he wanted to help Aang and the others defeat the Fire Lord. Loyalty. Right.

Sokka showed the former prince to a room (that just happened to be next to Percy's) and came back with a sigh.

"Okay, that was really weird," Sokka said, shoulders drooping. "I really don't know what to do."

Percy tried to comfort him by patting his shoulder. "It's hard to get used to someone who used to be your enemy as a friend. Trust me, I know."

\---

The next day started off rather badly. Percy awkwardly made eye contact with Zuko and waved his hand, but sat with Katara and Sokka while the former prince tried to teach Aang fire-bending. It was not going well.

"Five bucks he gets pissed and stomps off soon," Toph whispered, causing Sokka to laugh.

Percy rolled his eyes, "Come on, guys. Have a little faith. It'll probably take another five minutes."

Toph and Sokka burst out laughing and Katara looked over with one raised eyebrow. Aang must have been bored or something because Percy heard Zuko start lecturing him about paying attention. When he looked over, Zuko happened to turn his head and their eyes met.

Percy shifted awkwardly and looked away, scratching the back of his head uncomfortably. Sokka looked back and forth between the demigod and the fire-bender with a raised eyebrow.

"You guys haven't made up yet?" he asked, "I thought you and Captain Grumpy were best friends. Captain Grumpy? Hah! I've still got it."

Katara scoffed and started packing up the medical supplies she had been counting. "He shouldn't. You didn't see what Zuko did to him, Sokka, Percy was devastated."

Percy winced. "Katara," he complained, whispering, "he can hear you." They looked and saw Zuko and Aang staring at them.

"I know what to do," Zuko said, turning away and telling Aang about the ancient Sun Warriors.

\---

While Aang and Zuko went on their field trip to the Sun Warriors' Temple, Percy was able to relax. Katara said, "You need to be more careful with yourself. Heracles definitely cracked a few of your ribs. He even gave Sokka a concussion."

_"Which_ I no longer have," Sokka interjected, proudly puffing up his chest as the others laughed.

Toph snorted. "Are we one-hundred percent sure he doesn't have it anymore?" she asked.

Percy was about to say something else when they suddenly heard Aang's voice cheerfully shouting, "Guys!" 

They turned and saw the unlikely duo with huge grins on their faces as they approached the Gaang. They looked a little bit worse for wear than when they had left but didn't seem too injured. 

"Aang!" Katara exclaimed, hopping up and rushing over to him with Sokka close on her tail. Toph and Percy trailed behind them. Aang was energetically telling the Gaang about the moves they had learned at the Temple. Percy was about to join them, but Zuko distracted him by walking up to him and meeting his eyes. 

Zuko looked different. Percy couldn't really put a finger on it, but the fire-bender definitely had a different look on his face than when he had left. "Zuko?" he asked, throwing up an awkward smile. "What's wrong?"

The former prince shook his head and _//placed his hand on Percy's shoulder. His voice was weirdly forced and deep as he looked deeply into Percy's eyes and said, "Hey."//_ grabbed Percy's hand tightly. He seemed almost desperate as he looked into Percy's eyes. "I'm so sorry, Percy," he said, squeezing the demigod's hand like he was afraid Percy would pull away. Percy felt his chest warm up as Zuko continued, saying, "I was a total jerk to you and I lived my whole life around being even more of a dick _(is that a bad language word, Steve?)_. While we were at the Sun Warriors' Temple, I realized that fire-bending isn't all about being angry and emotional. It's about life and harmony." 

Percy wondered if laughing in this situation would be too inappropriate. Zuko was saying the most cheesy stuff, but tears still welled up in the demigod's eyes as the former prince pulled him closer. "Can you ever forgive me?" he asked. He was hunched forward and seemed smaller than ever. Zuko's next attack went straight through Percy's heart as he looked up at him like a sad puppy. Must. Res i s t. 

A sigh escaped Percy lips as he wrapped Zuko up in a hug, "Of course I forgive you, you jerk," he said, grinning when he felt the other teen's arms wrap around his torso tightly. 

"Ahem."

They both jumped and turned to see the Avatar and tweens staring at them with varying degrees of mischief, shock, and exasperation. 

"Get a room!" Toph exclaimed, much to Katara's horror and Sokka's amusement. Zuko's cheeks were a bright red as Percy laughed and wrapped his hand around his, squeezing it briefly. Well, this wasn't so bad. 

Zuko glared, but it didn't have the malice they were used to seeing in the fire-bender's eyes. Even Katara seemed to unconsciously relax as Aang and Zuko demonstrated the "Dancing Dragon." 

\---

It was still early morning when Percy watched Zuko and Sokka leave the Air Temple.

"What are they doing?" he grumbled to himself and was soon walking over to Blackjack. "He just got back and now he's going somewhere else with another guy on the team? It's like he's _trying_ to avoid me," he ranted, ignoring the way Blackjack gave him the pegasus' equivalent of an eye-roll. 

_"Come on, Boss. Any louder and they'll find us."_

They followed the duo as they climbed up toward the place where Zuko had stashed his stolen War Balloon. He should probably let Zuko and Sokka work out whatever they were doing on their own, but his natural curiosity took over. Blackjack flew high above, keeping watch over their balloon as they went.

-*-*-*-Balloon scene, edited. (Comes mostly from the episode itself.) (Come on, this scene is legendary.)

Sokka and Zuko tried to awkwardly relax with each other as the balloon carried them toward the island where Sokka's father was probably (like with 70% certainty) imprisoned. Zuko occasionally stoked the flames and Sokka looked out over the sky, trying to find somewhere comfortable to put his eyes.

"Pretty clouds," Sokka commented, tossing his arm over the side of the balloon and sticking it out as they passed one.

Zuko looked around, "Yeah. Fluffy." He couldn't help but think about his father, and how the Fire Lord was probably using these very balloons to destroy some small town somewhere right about now.

Nothing changed; Sokka started whistling aimlessly.

"What?" Zuko asked, wondering what the whistling meant. Was the water tribe boy trying to make things seem more awkward?

"What? Oh, I didn't say anything," Sokka replied, tapping his feet a little. He looked around for a moment as Zuko tried to focus his attention on stoking the fire and said, "Y'know, a friend of mine actually designed these balloons."

"No kidding," Zuko was mildly impressed. These things were pretty amazing.

"Yep. A balloon. Designed for war," Sokka sounded a bit depressed.

There was something they could relate on. "If there's one thing my dad's good at, it's war," Zuko snorted, shooting an extra strong blast of fire into the engine.

Sokka rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeaah, seems to run in the family."

Zuko scowled. "Hey, hold on--not everyone in my family's like that!"

"I know, I know, you've changed," Sokka amended, still a little bitter, but could you really blame him?

Zuko's shoulders drooped and he turned back to the engine, "I meant my uncle," he corrected, a memory of the haggard old man who had sat in a prison cell for weeks flashing past his eyes. "He was like a father to me, and I let him down."

Sokka surprised him by speaking up. "I think your uncle would be proud of you, leaving your home to come help us, that's hard," he said.

"It wasn't that hard," Zuko scoffed, recalling his argument with his father right before he left. Luckily, that general had left the room, or Zuko might not have been able to escape so easily.

Sokka was surprised, "Really? You didn't leave behind anyone you cared about?" he asked. He had assumed there would be many people in the Fire Nation waiting for their prince, especially since the guy had been so desperate to go back there.

"Well . . . Mei . . ." Zuko trailed off, knowing that he had hurt her deeply. In his letter to her, he had explained his feelings and talked about Percy. He knew that she would probably hate him forever for that, especially since he was leaving her for another guy.

"That gloomy girl who sighs a lot?" Sokka asked, recalling the girl who had followed Azula around for so long. He had been briefly acquainted with her when she and Ty Lee threw them in the dungeons at Ba Sing Se.

Zuko nodded, feeling down. He said, "But I broke it off. I remembered that there was someone more important to me, someone I needed to apologize to."

Sokka's eyes narrowed he was probably trying to figure out who that was. "My first girlfriend turned into the moon," he commented.

"That's rough, buddy."

-*-*-*-

When Sokka and Zuko landed on a volcano, Percy started to seriously doubt their judgment.

_"Are they nutso?"_ Blackjack snorted, allowing his wings to take them into a glide as they soared over the volcano. Percy bent the mist around them so that the steam didn't burn their skin as they flew around. Inside, they noticed a building surrounded by boiling water.

"How is that water not just completely evaporating from the heat?" Percy rolled his eyes at Blackjack's response.

_"What's a 'evaporating?' "_

They flew around and inspected the place for a while. After Sokka and Zuko had gone in, the darkness faded and a black horse flying around in the middle of the day would probably turn a few heads.

Percy didn't want to ruin the boys' cover, and Blackjack was getting tired, so they turned around and flew back to the mainland to get some rest and supplies.

\---

He spent that night on the other side of the cliff and flew back over the island the next day.

_"Are we actually going **in** that volcano today, Boss?"_ Blackjack asked. Was that sass he detected? Percy was going to give an amazing comeback, but paused, seeing a giant Warship flying toward them. Blackjack whinnied loudly, flapping his wings as hard as he could to turn them around.

They had just turned around when Percy heard a faint call. He turned his head back and noticed someone standing on the balcony of the ship, waving their arms wildly.

"Huh?"

He was a bit reserved about letting a giant _war_ ship get near them, but the guy on the deck looked familiar. The ship got closer and Percy finally recognized him.

"Sokka?" He noticed the boy jumping up and down, waving his arms around and yelling, he could faintly hear a few words if he strained his ears.

Blackjack didn't really want to land on the Warship. Percy could tell because as soon as the blimp got close, the pegasus dove down, causing a whistling sound in his ears as they approached the water at the speed of a train.

"Dude!" he exclaimed, G-force pushing his face back. He could imagine his own lips flapping in the wind, and probably laughed at some point as adrenaline was released into his bloodstream. Then, that unpleasant sensation that comes from reaching the bottom of a drop on a rollercoaster happened as Blackjack pulled out of it at the last second.

He was just getting over his nausea, an unconscious grin growing over his features when the pegasus spoke, _"But it's a giant flying metal thing!"_ Blackjack complained, _"The only worse thing is an airplane."_

A sigh left his lips, "C'mon, aren't you tired? I'll try to get you some sugar on the ship," Percy bribed, sensing the pegasus' hesitation at the thought of sugar.

Blackjack let out a breath that flapped his lips, something like a horsey sigh, and flew them back up to where Sokka was waiting with wide eyes.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Sokka exclaimed, "You guys were like WHOOSH, and then WSHHHSHHH, and FWOOP!"

Blackjack snorted and clopped his heels, _"There was no FWOOP!"_ he protested.

"Let me go next time!" Sokka grinned, leading them up into the Warship.

They continued back toward the Air Temple in the Warship, and Blackjack got his reward of sugar cubes.

A group of people came down the staircase and Percy grinned. "Suki, right?" Percy asked, gripping the warrior's forearm tightly.

She grinned and gripped right back, "Nice to see you remember me. I remember you getting thrown at the side of a cliff." Percy laughed loudly, face reddening in embarrassment as she smirked.

"Percy," Hakoda greeted, sharing the same handshake as they reunited.

"Leader," he joked, winking when Sokka made a loud complaining noise. Hakoda laughed and Percy nodded to the new guy, imitating his Fire Nation bow.

Zuko appeared from one of the many corridors. Percy guessed Sokka had gone to steer the ship and grinned innocently when Zuko gave him a look.

"You followed us," it didn't sound like a question.

Percy bobbed his head, feeling a little worried at Zuko's poker face, but sighed with relief when the former prince wrapped him in a hug.

"I'm glad you're okay," Percy said, returning the hug. He just realized it, but Zuko was totally taller than him! First Jason, now Zuko? He wasn't that short!

A smirk crossed Zuko's features, "What? You thought we would fail and be trapped in the middle of a boiling volcano?"

Percy shrugged and fell in line beside him as they started walking. "You never know."

Hakoda and the others laughed, and they all headed for the captain's bay.

\---

The next day, bombs rained down on the Western Air Temple and the group was forced to split up.

Zuko rushed out and engaged Azula on top of the airships. As they were fighting, the others were trying to persuade Appa to go through the tunnel Toph and Haku made.

"Appa doesn't wanna go back underground!" Aang exclaimed. The last time the bison had gone under, it wasn't very pretty.

Sokka, Aang, Katara, Toph, and Suki hopped aboard the flying bison, exploding out of the rock fortress Toph had created back when the bombs started falling. Percy and Blackjack followed them, partially out of worry for their escape, and mostly out of worry for Zuko.

"How did they find us?" Sokka yelled, ducking down to avoid a fire blast from one of the Warships. They barely managed to get out of range, turning around to watch Zuko and Azula's fight.

Then, the fire nation siblings blasted each other off the ship, "Zuko!" Percy yelled, urging Blackjack to swoop down and catch the former prince. He just managed to grab the back of his shirt, and carefully set the fire prince down on Appa's back as they caught up to the rest of the Gaang.

"She's not gonna make it," Zuko whispered, watching Azula's flailing body with a shocked face. When she regained her bearings and shot herself over to the cliff, he rolled his eyes, worry bleeding into annoyance (and relief), "Of course she did."

That night, around the campfire, the Gaang cheered Zuko on.

"Yay, Zuko!" they cheered, much to Katara's annoyance and Zuko's pride.

Percy was surprised when Katara stomped off, "What's up with her?" Toph asked, and Zuko went to placate her. He sent the former prince a look, reminding him silently not to piss her off too much.

Zuko rolled his eyes, giving him a "really?" look, and followed the water tribe girl over to the edge of the cliff.

"Great idea, Zuko," Percy grumbled, "follow the chick who hates your guts to the edge of a cliff." Toph cackled at his words, but the others didn't quite hear it and looked at each other with confusion.

That night, Percy waited for Zuko in their shared tent, but he never came. "Ugh," Percy grumbled, flopping down onto his sleeping bag and rolling over to sleep.

The next day, Katara and Zuko asked Aang to borrow Appa. Percy awoke to their argument, ". . . you wouldn't understand," Katara was saying.

Crawling out of his tent, Percy noticed Katara and Zuko standing on one side with Aang and Sokka on the other. Well, that was totally not an argument. It took him a moment to realize what they were saying.

Listening to Aang's retort, Percy thought it sounded like something his father or Chiron would say. Maybe that "Avatar wisdom" was a real thing after all. "Wait, you guys are going where?"

Zuko gave him a serious look, sighed. He knew that look; Annabeth used to give him the same face every time he tried to talk her out of doing something she really wanted to do (like listening to the sirens in the middle of the Sea of Monsters). Zuko probably just wanted to make up all the times he was being a jerk to the water tribe girl. These kids were a lot more serious than he and the other seven had been on their quest to save the world. He guessed they just never really thought about murder before.

"Are you really sure about this?" Percy asked. He silently hoped the teen would say something like 'No, Percy, I was completely wrong. Please, tell Katara I was just kidding," but Zuko just nodded.

As the two flew off on Appa, Percy turned to Aang and Sokka. They looked a little worried about their wayward companions, but there wasn't much they could do. Appa was gone, and Blackjack couldn't exactly fly them all to wherever their friends were going.

"I know she'll do the right thing," Aang comforted, looking a little unsure with himself.

Percy nodded, clapping a hand on Sokka's shoulder to pull him out of his funk, "They both will."

\---

When Appa came back, they had already packed up camp. The group quickly hopped on and flew off to meet with Katara and Zuko. When they arrived, they found the fire-water combo at the edge of a dock.

"Hey," Zuko greeted, looking a little put out. Percy walked over and gave his hand a quick squeeze, turning Zuko's frown upside-down.

"How'd it go?" Percy asked, looking over at Katara. She was sitting on the edge of the dock, legs dangling into the water, and Aang was walking over to talk to her.

"She didn't do it," Zuko said, turning to Percy with a confused look, "she let him live."

Percy nodded, "Katara's not the type to kill someone. Even a person who caused her so much suffering and pain."

Zuko shook his head, watching the Avatar trio re-connect. "I don't understand," he said. "That kind of person . . . even if he's retired now, he should pay for what he did." He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "I wouldn't be able to let him go like that. Not if he was the one who killed my mom."

Silence permeated the air and Percy felt his eyebrows draw together. "Me neither."

Zuko's head whipped toward him and he could only imagine what his expression looked like right then. Percy's vision shifted toward the horizon and he stared at the place where the sky met the sea.

"You . . ." Zuko trailed off and seemed to be struggling for what to say. Percy closed his eyes and tried to ignore the satisfaction that came at seeing his ex-step-father, Smelly Gabe, displayed as an art piece in the museum after his mother had used Medusa's head on him. Percy would have done it himself, even at twelve-years-old, but his mother had wanted to save him the emotional trauma. Katara didn't deserve it any more than he had.

Percy turned back to Zuko with a smile, "I'll tell you about it another day, okay?"

Zuko nodded, relaxing as they walked back over to the others. Zuko went to have some final words with Katara, so Percy walked over to Sokka and Aang.

"You were right!" Sokka grinned, crossing his arms. "Not that I needed it. I had complete faith in my sister."

Aang and Percy laughed, "Sure," Aang said, laughing some more when Sokka let out some indignant squawks.

As they left, Zuko suggested they go to a place called "Ember Island." He claimed that his father's cabin would be empty and no-one would think to look for them there. Percy looked over at Aang's back as they flew and noticed that his shoulders seemed a bit tense. All they could do now was train until the time came when Aang needed to fight the Fire Lord.


	8. The Play

###### The Play

_a short filler?_

\---

While training on the island, Percy watched Zuko slowly succumb to the stress that surrounds any war. He was reminded of some of the older kids at Camp when they were training the younger demigods to go to war for their parents. (TBH, he probably did the same exact thing, so who was he to judge?)

"Again!" Zuko called, going through a kata with Aang once more as they both honed their fire-bending skill. 

"Again!" 

"No, again!"

Katara was taking a little breather from her own water-bending practice on the side. Sokka and Suki had headed into town earlier to gather some supplies. 

Percy took the chance to pull out his sword and hack away at some dummies. He told Toph to pull out all the stops and try to destroy him. Her evil laughter would haunt his dreams for the next few weeks.

"Feel my wrath!" Toph cackled, creating dummies of Fire Nation soldiers to attack the demigod as he struggled to keep up.

"Whoa!" Percy exclaimed, barely dodging a stone dummy when it actually lifted its blade and slashed at him rather than just rushing forward like the others had. 

She didn't let up, continuing until they both almost passed out from exhaustion. 

"That . . . was . . . awesome!" Toph gasped, throwing her fists into the air and causing a minor earthquake when she slammed them back down.

Sokka and Suki came back the idea to go to a play about their lives. Percy wondered how the Gaang's entire journey could possibly be recorded. There had to be some events that were fabricated or taken out of context. But, then again . . . maybe they could all wind down over some entertainment and snacks?

The journey to the theater was lighthearted. Everyone seemed really curious about how the play would go. They were expecting something cool, maybe not completely correct, but still interesting. 

"So their sources for the play includes a cabbage seller?" Percy laughed, looking over the poster. He couldn't read the words well, obviously, this language was still pretty new to him, and his dyslexia didn't really help.

When they sat down, Percy felt bad for Aang. He and Zuko were essentially cock-blocking the poor guy, sitting between him and Katara like that, but Zuko didn't seem to notice anything and the play was soon starting. 

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. It probably didn't help. Aang just slumped forward in his seat, leaning his head on his hand with a pout. 

As the characters came on screen, Percy was surprised to finally see the events from before he met up with them, "You actually thought Aang was gonna be some hundred-year-old man?" Percy laughed, leaning against Zuko's side in the darkness. The former prince flushed, turning away even though nobody could see his face.

"Well, when you're looking for someone who's been missing for a hundred years, wouldn't you usually assume he's really old?" the teen argued. His face was heated and he seemed to really take Percy's teasing seriously. He laughed inwardly and wrapped his arm around Zuko's. 

"Not really." 

Everyone seemed extremely irritated at their character representation. Percy thought it was a little accurate, if slightly exaggerated (okay, very exaggerated). 

"I don't make bad jokes about food all the time," Sokka complained, arm wrapped securely around Suki.

"Yeah, you make bad jokes about plenty of other things too," Katara giggled, getting laughs all around.

Sokka tossed his free arm forward. "Right?!" Sokka sounded offended, but at the play and not his sister's words.

"Well _I_ think it's amazing," Toph cut in, trolling as usual. Percy laughed and the play continued.

When Toph's character was introduced, Katara tried to get a laugh in, but it backfired and made Toph a lot happier than before.

"It's okay, Katara," Percy whispered, "my jokes fall flat all the time." She pouted, and Percy grinned. The bad acting and horrible story continued, eliciting annoyed comments from the group every once in a while, and cheerful laughs from Toph.

When the time came that Percy would appear, he perked up. Zuko was still moping about his own character, but he turned and pointed at the others grinning at himself.

Obviously, the playwright hadn't been able to figure out when Percy came onto the scene. The scene when they fought Azula in the desert didn't even feature him.

Percy pouted at his lack of appearance, "What the heck?" he grumbled, "I was there too!" He was important too!

Sokka laughed at his expense, and Zuko placed his arm around his shoulders to comfort him. "You were _there?"_ Katara asked, not having noticed his presence. He pouted, and the others laughed again. Even the Ba Sing Se scene didn't have Percy in it.

"Did Jet just . . . die?" Zuko asked, still enjoying the play despite his boyfriend's discontent. Percy shrugged, looking over to Sokka and the others. They were there at the time, after all.

"You know, it was really unclear," Sokka replied, shrugging it off.

Percy and Aang glared at the scene about Zuko and Katara in the underground. Aang's uncomfortable expression shifted as he looked over to Katara, unsure about where their relationship lay.

Then, it was Percy's turn to comfort Zuko when the scene about the events leading to their withdrawal from Ba Sing Se came about. He knew the event was still sore for the former prince, he hadn't even had the chance to make up with his uncle yet, but there wasn't much he could do.

The second intermission came around, and tensions within the group were only rising as the play continued. Maybe it wasn't quite the stress relief Percy thought it would be. Zuko was sitting on the floor beside Toph and Percy was standing beside him. Zuko's hood was up in a half-baked attempt to mask his identity, but there were enough cosplayers around that he didn't even get noticed. 

Despite all the angst, Percy could tell that Toph and Zuko's conversation made the former prince a lot happier. As the play continued, Percy finally showed up, but only as a background character.

"You have got to be kidding me," the demigod mumbled, crossing his arms and huffing. His character just stood in the back and did some lame water-bending.

Later, when Zuko's character died, Percy couldn't help but grip the former prince's arm tightly. They were all surprised that the crowd cheered so loudly at the ending. It must have been the Fire Nation conditioning its people to hate the Avatar.

"That was a horrible play."

"Agreed."

"Yep."

"Uh-huh."

Percy sighed as they left, glad that it was finally over. They continued training the next day, each determined to get the monstrosity off their minds. 

"Things will go better than that play," Katara sounded determined, "we won't let that ending come to pass."

They could only hope that she was right.


	9. Phoenix King Ozai

###### Phoenix King Ozai

When Sokka suggested they hang out on the beach, Percy grinned. Aang and Katara used their water-bending to have the most epic splash contest he had ever seen while Toph and Sokka made the /best/ sand sculptures ever.

Percy walked over to where Zuko was sitting at the top of a large staircase that led down to the beach. He knew his boyfriend was pissed because his face was so red it was letting off smoke (literally). He said, "Come on, Zuko, let's take a minute to relax. You've been stressing yourself out since we got here."

Zuko turned to him with a glare so Percy held his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry," he said, pushing himself up and turning back toward the courtyard. His shoulders were tense and his voice betrayed his fury. "We have to be ready. _Aang_ has to be ready. There's no time for relaxation!"

Percy watched him go for a few seconds. Should he go after him? Well, Zuko seemed pretty put off about Aang's behavior, so maybe being alone would give him time to cool off? Percy groaned as he looked back and forth between the house and the sea. Zuko would be fine right? He sent one last look back at Zuko before walking to the water and flopping himself down among the waves. He willed the currents to push him farther out where he allowed himself to sink to the bottom of the ocean and relax.

"Agh maybe I should go back." Percy sighed, closing his eyes for a second as he argued with himself. It was hard to sit still, even at the bottom of the ocean so, despite his worries, he eventually found himself swimming around. As he was adventuring, the weird creatures that inhabited this world's ocean would dart over and say 'hi' like they were meeting a celebrity.

Percy vaguely wondered (for the hundredth) where Blackjack went when he wasn't hanging around. Now that they were in a different world, he must be exploring on his own somewhere. It would be interesting to hear the pegasus' stories when he got back. Maybe he would ask him? _(Also known as setting myself up for a sidestory.)_

The rumors from his short vacation under the sea must have spread even further since he left because many of them would stop by and greet him Odd fish swam by along with gigantic combinations of the weirdest sea creatures that lurked in the depths of this world's sea, their psychically-transmitted voices exclaiming _"Greetings, Protector of the Ocean!"_

Percy grinned at the peaceful atmosphere beneath the waves. He was glad that humans hadn't found a way to live underwater yet. The fish were relatively safe--for now.

When Katara swam down, the fish that had gathered around swam away. Pushed himself up to meet her halfway.

"Did something happen?" he asked.

She waved her hands a few times and expanded the bubble she had bent around her head so that it surrounded his as well. "Zuko's gone crazy!" she exclaimed, knitting her eyebrows together with worry. "He's attacking Aang!"

Well, schist. Percy grabbed ahold of her waist and shot them toward the surface (while making sure he didn't go too fast, he didn't want Katara to get hurt). The waves washed them up gracefully ashore, landing them both on their feet on the beach.

They could see smoke rising near the house and Percy ended up chasing Katara up the stairs to where Zuko and Aang had just finished their fight. Percy knew he should have gone after Zuko. What kind of boyfriend was he? The teen just wanted to prepare Aang for the possibility of there being no other choice than killing Fire Lord Ozai, but he was bad at communication. Percy was supposed to be there for him.

"I can't understand why you're all just lying around!" Zuko raged, throwing his arms in the air as Aang, Sokka, and Katara shared awkward looks.

Aang had the sense to at least look a little sheepish. "Umm, we have a confession to make," he said.

When the Gaang admitted that they wanted to wait until after Sozin's Comet came, Zuko explained that the Fire Lord wanted to burn the entire Earth Kingdom down, just as Sozin had destroyed the Air Nation before.

"Why didn't you tell us that before?!" Aang exclaimed, clutching his head.

"I didn't think I needed to!" argued Zuko. His face was still red as he glared at the Gaang, even giving Percy a nasty look. 

Percy sighed. He definitely should have done something earlier. If their team was falling apart so soon before the final battle, they wouldn't last long enough to tie Ozai's shoelaces, much less stop (or kill) him.

"Oh my gosh, I have to fight the Fire Lord in two days, TWO DAYS! What am I going to do?" Aang exclaimed, clutching his head and walking around in circles.

Katara stepped forward and placed her hands on his upper arms. "Aang, calm down," she ordered, forcing him to meet her gaze. _"You_ don't have to fight the Fire Lord. _We_ do. We're not letting you go in there alone. We're a family and we'll fight with you to the very end."

He looked up at her in surprise and Sokka walked up, placing his hand on his sister's shoulder. "She's right. You're not alone, Aang. We're all going to be there for you. No matter what happens."

Tears filled his eyes and the young monk nodded, yelping when Toph suddenly slammed into them, "Group hug!" she shouted. They laughed before turning to Zuko and Percy. Katara and Sokka separated from the circle to make space for the duo.

"Come on Zuko. If you're part of the group, that means you have to be part of the group hugs," Katara said, sharing an evil laugh with Toph. Zuko's face turned red for a different reason and Percy laughed before pushing his embarrassed boyfriend into the group hug and joining as well.

"We'll get through this together!" Katara encouraged. Percy couldn't help but think that the group would be royally screwed without her. She was like the mother of the group, keeping them all grounded and reminding them of their purpose.

Zuko and Aang continued fire-bending training, but Aang still seemed torn about their decision to kill the Fire Lord. Percy couldn't really understand why he was so resistant. He understood why a twelve-year-old would be hesitant to take a life, of course, a twelve-year-old monk, even more so, but everyone seemed to be in consensus outside of that. 

Even though he didn't really want to, if Percy had gotten the chance to kill Heracles in their battle, he probably would have. (I mean, he did stab the guy through the chest with a three-foot sword, so like . . .) Sokka came up with a simple plan to take down the Melon Lord, and Percy was worried that Toph might be getting _too_ used to being the villain. It was good practice, though.

The others were mad at Aang for hesitating, but Percy decided to sit by him while they were eating and give him a little support. When Katara brought out Ozai's baby picture, the subsequent argument just got Aang worked up again.

"Hey," Percy said, placing his hand on Aang's shoulder. They were alone on one of the balconies while the others stewed over what happened, "I know you're against fighting," he said, "and especially against killing. I may not understand or agree with you completely, but I know you'll be able to work it out. You're a bright kid, Aang, and we couldn't be any prouder of you. As a person, and as the Avatar."

Aang gave him a small smile, but it sank quickly, "But, how am I supposed to figure it out? The only option seems to be taking the Fire Lord's life."

Percy gave him a look and dropped his hand, "When there's something worrying you, it usually tends to work itself out. The Fates are watching over you, making sure you follow their plan. It is your fate to win, and to save the world," he preached. He couldn't help remembering the way Chiron had always encouraged him just like this and his mouth morphed into a grin. "You'll figure it out. I believe in you."

\---

The next day, Aang was gone, and they couldn't find him anywhere. They couldn't exactly defeat the Fire Lord without the Avatar, so Zuko led them toward the Earth Kingdom to find a way to track him down.

"You don't think he ran away, do you?" Zuko asked, holding on tightly to the side of Appa's saddle as Katara flew the bison as fast as he could go.

Before anyone else could answer, Katara said, "He wouldn't do that." Her back was tense and her shoulders were squared. Even as she flew a giant white ball of fluff toward the Earth Kingdom, she sat tall and grit her teeth. "Aang will fulfill his destiny."

They ended up in a tavern where a woman named June was dominating all the fighters of the place, will a hot drink still in her hand. Drunkards yelled and thieves flailed as they were thrown from the tavern in style, the dark-haired girl sparing no one as she fought through the crowd.

It took a bit of Zuko's angry convincing to get the girl moving, but she eventually led them outside to where Appa had made a new friend.

When June's pet, Nyla, sniffed Aang's staff and June explained that Aang didn't exist, Zuko's second inquiry to the girl was heartwarming. Percy was looking forward to seeing Uncle again as the badger-looking anteater thing lead them toward Ba Sing Se.

"Aww, you kept his slipper?" Katara cooed, turning her mocking eyes on Zuko who pouted.

When they found themselves outside the walls of Ba Sing Se, June left. Sokka and Zuko decided to set up camp outside the walls before delving in to find Uncle Iroh. 

Percy knew that the former prince was worried about seeing his uncle again and found himself keeping a closer eye on him throughout the night.

"Hey," he said, leaning back against the rock wall Toph had kindly set up for them to sleep under. Their tent was draped over it, giving them some privacy as they relaxed.

Zuko groaned; he was sitting with his legs crossed and his face buried in his hands. He moved a pinky and peeked at Percy from the corner of his eye. "What?" he asked, probably not meaning to sound so harsh, but Percy couldn't tell for sure.

Percy shifted a bit. "Uh, how's it going?" he asked.

Zuko sighed, plopping himself down on his sleeping bag and falling back until he was lying spread-eagle on his sleeping bag. "Look, I know you forgave me--way too easily for that matter--but how could Uncle possibly forgive me for what I've done?" he asked. Percy spied a few tears pooling in his eyes as he finished, his heartbreaking as Zuko's voice cracked. "I _betrayed_ him."

Percy steeled himself and nodded. "Yes, you did." Zuko peered up at him with those darn puppy-dog eyes so he continued, "But Uncle Iroh believed in you. He still does. We both do," He placed his hand on Zuko's head and fluffed up his messy bangs. "So don't get yourself so worked up about it. He'll forgive you when he sees that you finally listened to what he was telling you all along."

Zuko scowled and rubbed his eyes with the back of his palm. He lay still long enough that Percy wondered if he had fallen asleep. Percy crossed his legs and sank down beside Zuko's head to run his hands through his hair again. 

Finally, Zuko spoke. "But what if he doesn't? What if he tells me that I'm a failure, or that he ran out of patience with me? What if he rejects me for taking so long to figure out what he was trying to tell me my entire life?" His voice was so small and fragile. Percy felt his chest tighten as the teen sank deeper into his depressing thoughts. 

Percy sighed, he knew the only way for Zuko's fears to calm down would be to find Uncle Iroh and hope for the best. He lay down beside him and closed his eyes, resting his hand over Zuko's as he relaxed. "I believe that everything is going to be okay," he said, stretching forward and lightly placing a kiss on Zuko's cheek.

Zuko's voice barely rose over a whisper. "But how do you know?"

And Percy smirked, "Because I do."

\---

Later that night, they were attacked by a group of people.

"What the heck is going on?" Sokka exclaimed, pulling out his sword and slashing through a small stone projectile that was aimed at his rock-tent.

Percy and Zuko pulled themselves out of their sleeping bags and tried to figure out where their assailants were as Toph sensed them through the earth from their vibrations. 

Before the battle could go too far, one of their attackers started laughing in a loud, obnoxious way. When Sokka and Katara started smiling, Percy knew that things were finally looking up.

"All old people know each other, don't you know that?" Bumi asked, snorting out his signature laughter. They revealed the existence of the White Lotus and went to find Uncle Iroh.

When they reached the camp, Zuko was almost vibrating with nerves. Percy wrapped his arm around his waist and the pair drew more than a couple of odd looks, but Zuko was able to catch his breath and walk toward his uncle's tent.

As Zuko steeled himself and entered the tent, Percy waited outside until he was done. He sat just outside the tent, almost like he was standing guard; he wasn't really surprised when Zuko didn't come out until morning.

He grinned and pulled Uncle Iroh into a tight embrace when the two fire-benders exited the tent the next morning. 

"You were right," he said, taking a step back to see the old man's smug face. 

"Of course I was," Uncle Iroh replied, placing his hands on Percy's shoulders. "I'm a wise old man." 

When Zuko asked his uncle for help, Uncle Iroh explained that a peaceful end to the war would only come when the Avatar defeated the Fire Lord. When he revealed that Zuko must become the new Fire Lord, Zuko easily accepted the responsibility. Percy wondered if he was feeling a little full of himself, but Zuko wouldn't make a bad Fire Lord, so he wasn't about to complain.

In the end, they decided to split up. Zuko and Katara would go to the Fire Nation and fight Azula, while Sokka, Toph, Suki, and Percy would try to stop the airships from destroying the Earth Kingdom.

Zuko gave Percy a Fire Nation bow before they separated. Percy's features twisted into a crooked grin, imitating the bow and grabbing Zuko's hands in his. "See you on the other side," he said, pulling the teen forward and landing a short kiss on the corner of Zuko's mouth.

Sokka must have seen them because he started making loud gagging noises in the background. Zuko smirked and pulled Percy in for a long, sweet kiss instead. Sokka and the others started making fake disgusted sounds until they stopped.

"I'll be back," Zuko said, completely ignorant of the amazing pun he just made. Percy started laughing as Zuko and Katara disappeared on the back of that lizard thing and they were soon leaving on their mission as well.

Off to battle, they went--ready for anything and everything.

\---

When Percy, Sokka, Toph, and Suki found the Fire Nation's airship field, the ships had already started taking off.

Sokka screamed, "Jump on!" He had really gotten better at taking charge. He reminded Percy of Frank when the shy, tall boy was suddenly given the role of _praetor_ in the middle of the battlefield.

They barely managed to land on the ship and pull themselves aboard. Sokka was already looking around, his mind whirling for a plan. They snuck up to the captain's quarters and Toph took the chance to use her newly-created metal-bending. She made intense armor that protected her from even the fire-benders' comet-enhanced fire blasts and knocked everyone unconscious. 

Sokka whooped for joy and rushed to the abandoned steering wheel, looking out over the landscape with Suki and Percy at his sides. 

"We're already in the air," Suki said, her voice sounded despairing. "What do we do?" 

Percy looked back at the ships that were flying behind them and recalled something he had learned in class, weirdly enough. The reason that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the Air Force Base in Hawaii was so successful was that the Americans had lined up all of the ships in a way that made it easy to blow them all up in one strike. 

He elbowed Sokka and pointed at the line of ships, giving him a look. A light shone in Sokka's eyes and he grinned, leaning forward and grabbing the wheel. "I know what to do," he said. 

Sokka hilariously managed to trick the crew into falling out of the ship, (poor birthday boy) and turned their ship so that it would slash across the tops of all of the airships. They would, theoretically, destroy the steering mechanisms of all of the airships and knock them out of the sky with their single ship in a kamikaze-like fashion.

The Gaang exited through the top of the airship, trying hard to keep their footing as it rocked and smashed into other ships. 

"I don't think the plan is working out!" Suki exclaimed, throwing out her arms to keep balanced as the ship smashed into another steering fin and rocked again. When their ship was torn in two, they were forced to abandon it, leaping to another one when the moment showed itself.

\---

As they landed, something happened. They were too high up; Sokka lost his footing and started to slip. Toph yelled for him, and Percy rushed forward, barely managing to pull the water tribe boy up before he slipped off instead and fell hundreds of feet toward the water.

They yelled his name, but Percy continued to fall, and Toph and Suki had to hold Sokka back or else he might have fallen as well. Sokka yelled in frustration, but they were forced to push onward, doing their best to fight off as many fire-benders as they could while they went.

Toph was almost entirely dependent on Sokka as her eyes during their fight, and Sokka made good use of her as his weapon, rage fueling his adrenalin. Together, they were unstoppable but when Suki got separated from them, Sokka almost lost hope. One look at Toph's terrified expression brought him back and he sighed in relief he watched Suki easily land on the next ship over.

When Sokka and Toph fell from the side of the ship, Sokka barely managed to get ahold of Toph when he landed, spraining his leg in the process of slamming into the metal protrusion where fire-benders were meant to stand as they burned the world to toast.

Sokka put his entire might into pulling Toph up, but it was no use; they were going to lose.

Then, a miracle happened; the water rose from the ocean, revealing an almost glowing Percy with a hurricane swirling around him. He waved his hands and the fire-benders were sent flying from the ship, landing in the waves below.

Then, something _even better_ happened. Suki re-appeared, driving an airship toward them by its upper "fin," and giving them a place to land as they jumped off the side of the ship, allowing it to crash carefully, barely reaching land in time.

Finally reunited, they grounded the last of the airships, and noticed that Aang was fighting the Fire Lord--wait; the Phoenix King.

\---

Percy was about to call Blackjack to help out when intense blue and orange lights filled the sky. It was so reminiscent of the gods' traveling light that Percy immediately looked away, covering his eyes with his arm to protect himself.

They landed the last ship beside the elevated rock where they could see Aang's silhouette, and exited carefully, making sure that nobody's injuries were too bad.

"Aang!" they shouted, glad to be reunited with their friend.

"That was amazing! He was like _BOOSH_ and you were like _WATCHAA_ and then he was like _SLAMOOSH_ and you were all _HAIYAAH!"_

Aang laughed as Sokka hopped around on one leg, using his entire body to try and imitate what he had seen.

"So, is he . . . y'know," asked Suki. She made a slicing motion across her neck and stuck out her tongue.

Ozai lifted his head, "I'm still alive," he spat, causing everyone to jump back.

Aang stepped forward to calm them down, "don't worry guys, he won't be hurting anyone with fire-bending ever again. I took away his bending."

Sokka's eyes almost popped out of his head, "You what?" he yelled, cursing everyone else to cover their ears. He started ranting about how things would have been so much simpler if they had just known--

Percy grinned, placing his hand on Aang's shoulder as the younger boy grinned happily, "I knew you could do it."

\---(awkward epilogue)---

When they were finally able to meet with Zuko and Katara again, Percy almost had a heart attack as he saw Zuko lying on the ground, gripping his abdomen in pain.

He rushed to his boyfriend's side, carefully taking his hand as the former prince grinned at him sheepishly, still wincing in pain. Percy rolled his eyes, wiping tears of relief from his eyes and wondering when he had become such a crybaby.

At long last, the hundred-year war among the Four Nations was over and the new Fire Lord, Zuko, along with the Avatar spread peace through the land. 

Percy was by his side through it all, a wide smile on his face as his boyfriend, and soon-to-be-husband, learned more about leading the world, and he was able to live in a time of peace at last.

He sometimes missed his old friends and family, but he knew that they would be reunited in the Underworld together someday. Hades promised it when he entered Percy's dreams looking like death (kekeke) and told him about the new, larger, completely integrated Underworld system, comprising people of both worlds and even their animals.

The two worlds were at peace, and our hero, Perseus Jackson, had finally fulfilled his destiny.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading this. I hope you enjoyed it! You could maybe look forward to possible short stories based on this AU? I have a few ideas. Byebi for now everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this starting in high school and just finished editing it to look /a little/ acceptable. Sorry for the cheesy plot.


End file.
